Metro Atlanta
Metro Atlanta

MARTA: Things to know about the Atlanta transit agency

A MARTA rail rain rolls on a line in the center of Georgia 400 near Sandy Springs. (AJC file)

Credit: George Mathis

Credit: George Mathis

A MARTA rail rain rolls on a line in the center of Georgia 400 near Sandy Springs. (AJC file)
By AJC Staff
Jan 15, 2022

MARTA, the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, marked 40 years of rail service in 2019. The metro Atlanta transit agency provides rail and bus service in DeKalb and Fulton counties, including the city of Atlanta, with plans to expand into Clayton County.

MARTA was proposed by an act of the Georgia Legislature in 1965. Voters in DeKalb and Fulton counties approved a 1% percent sales tax to fund MARTA operations in 1971, with construction of the rail system beginning in 1975.

Ridership: People take 488,000 MARTA trips a day. Since the service began in 1979, it has carried more than 5 billion riders. It’s the eighth-largest system in the country.

The buses: Nearly 550 MARTA buses serve 101 routes along 1,439 miles of road.

The trains: Rail lines span 48.1 miles and carry 338 rail cars through 38 stations.

Sources: MARTA web site

About the Author

AJC Staff
More Stories

Keep Reading

Fulton County's main jail on Rice Street is desperately understaffed and in unacceptable condition, a court-appointed monitor says in a new report. (AJC File)

Credit: Steve Schaefer

Unsupervised inmates would destroy new Fulton jail, report says

A damning report says Fulton County's jail staffing crisis is so bad that unsupervised detainees with makeshift weapons would immediately tear apart any new facility.

Man to serve life for killing teen after stealing $8 in botched drug deal

Georgia man to serve life for killing teen after stealing $8 in botched drug deal

Cobb officer fired, charged with distributing obscene material

Matthew Clements Abbott, 36, is facing charges of distribution of obscene material, two counts of public indecency and violation of oath by a public officer.

The Latest

Because of the large number of trucks on Georgia roads, the state leads the nation in moving violations by commercial drivers this year (22,091) and drug and alcohol offenses (677), writes Doug Turnbull. (Hyosub Shin/AJC)

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

Gridlock Guy: Big trucks have an outsize impact. Meet the unit policing them.

Unsupervised inmates would destroy new Fulton jail, report says

Man to serve life for killing teen after stealing $8 in botched drug deal

Featured

In 2022, Georgia Power projected its winter peak electricity demand would grow by about 400 megawatts by 2031. Since then, Georgia has experienced a boom of data centers, which require a large load of electricty to run, and Georgia Power's recent forecast shows peak demand growing by 20 times the 400-megawatt estimate from just three years ago. (Illustration by Philip Robibero/AJC)

Credit: Illustration: Philip Robibero / AJC

DATA SURGE

Data centers need a lot more juice. Georgia consumers fear being squeezed.

Data centers, utilities and regulators in Georgia have pledged that facilities will pay their fair share of the infrastructure costs they incur. Not everyone is so sure.

Dragon Con’s lifetime membership program cost: $250 in 1993, now $4,500

Dragon Con has an Eternal membership program that started in 1993 for $250 and is now $4,500. About 15 people a year buy into it. But is it worth it?

Georgia HS football rankings: McEachern earns highest ranking since 2019

McEachern debuts in the Class 6A rankings at No. 6 after defeating then-No. 6 North Cobb. Find out who else moved into and out of the Georgia high school football rankings.