Cobb County will introduce Sunday bus service for the first time in response to demand from riders and the business community, county officials said.
Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday on a package of changes to its CobbLinc bus system, including Sunday hours and ride-hailing options to replace some services.
Commissioner Lisa Cupid, a longtime advocate of Sunday bus service, welcomed the change.
“This should have been done yesterday,” Cupid said. “This has been something that’s been on the hearts and minds of many.”
Chairman Mike Boyce said he has heard from many in the business community who said their employees needed transportation on the weekends.
“The services that they provide to the customers here, we sort of take it for granted,” Boyce said. “You go to a restaurant, the servers are there. You go to a hotel, the beds are made up. These are the people who need our bus system to get to work.”
The ride-hailing program will replace the Flex Bus, which picks up passengers by appointment and has no fixed route, in south Cobb. Riders will be able to hail a car through Uber, Lyft or a taxi service and pay a flat fee, with the county subsidizing the rest.
The county plans to offer the service between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. on weekdays within a defined zone. But first, it will need to sign an agreement with each of the private operators.
Nevertheless, officials believe it will be cheaper than the current Flex service, which costs the county about $40 per trip.
The package of transit amendments also included changes to some routes and the addition of an express bus from both Kennesaw State University campuses to Atlanta.
The changes will start to go into effect this summer.
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