MARTA managers should ride system
I’ve used big city rapid transit (in Chicago, Washington, D.C. and New York) and worked as a conductor on the Chicago Transit Authority rail system. I also have advanced degrees and experience in general management and organizational operations. I see a lot of room for improvement with MARTA’s operations and management.
My coworkers and I were waiting recently for a late westbound Blue Line train that should have been at the East Lake station at 9:47 (according to the schedule), but didn’t arrive until 9:55. What good is the schedule it you don’t stick to it and we can’t trust it? No PA announcements to explain or warn us, just waiting and silence. I could have taken an alternate ride to the next Green Line station if I’d known what to expect. Do the video displays work? Another night, on the train from Five Points to Candler Park, other passengers and I (including a father and his two daughters) were harassed by a panhandler on the train and on the platform – yet not a cop was to be found on the train or on the platforms at Candler Park.
Do MARTA managers ride every day as part of their commuting routine? Are they required to? They should be; then, they might have a faint idea of what their customers experience and some clue of what needs to be improved. We expect two very simple things from MARTA: safety and reliability. If MARTA can't give us that, don't be surprised or angry that people don't ride MARTA or don't want it expanded. As for me, I'm going to start taking GRTA Express or alternate transit.
JOHN ADAMSON, STONE MOUNTAIN
Consensus grows on climate change
On Monday, 13 major corporations including Atlanta-based UPS and Coca-Cola pledged to take major steps to reduce their carbon footprint (“Coca-Cola, UPS join $140B climate pledge,” Business, July 28). More are expected to do so before UN talks on global warming begin in December. This is more evidence of mainstream consensus in our country for the need to address climate change.
Yet, some in Congress continue to deny global warming is caused by human activity and continue to obstruct legislation to deal with that threat. It’s no secret that the Koch Brothers and others from the fossil-fuel industry are major donors for virtually all of these deniers. It is increasingly clear these congresspersons are putting their own personal interest ahead of the interests of future generations and the desires of most Americans who, according to polls, favor legislative action on climate change.
MICHAEL WALLS, ATLANTA
