A Reddit post yesterday touched off a conversation about MARTA rail. The writer said he (or she) lives near a station but never rides the train because of "the many homeless and panhandlers that harassed me for money (and) people who would play music loud and take up two seats."
Credit: Andria Brooks
Credit: Andria Brooks
Any regular rider on the MARTA rails has been panhandled and also entertained by the tinny emissions from someone's bad headphones. But some on Reddit argue that it's getting better.
"Since the start of their Ride With Respect campaign I haven't really seen anybody being too unbearable on board," said one. "It's been a minute since I've been trapped in a train with a panhandler too and I take it several times a week." He also called for more MARTA police in the rail stations at night.
Another poster was sanguine: "Sorry I come from the Chicago area, and if that is all you have to complain about consider yourself blessed. Avoid eye contact with panhandlers and get some good earbuds so you can choose your own auditory experience."
But haters gonna hate.
"MARTA makes my 12-minute commute by car into a two-hour ordeal involving a bus, a train, another bus, and a third bus. . . . I don't know anyone who rides MARTA by choice. It's always poor people, disabled people who can't drive, or people who've lost their license due to DUI."
What's your take? Does MARTA really not go anywhere anybody wants to go? Is the train inconvenient, unappealing and unsafe, or is it a breeze that leaves you feeling relaxed and grateful for escaping the interstates?
And remember, as one Reddit poster put it, "I love the skyline view from West End station."
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