From an AJC Dec. 10, 2013 op-ed by State Rep. Mike Jacobs:
When Mr. Parker arrived, parties who had been involved in his selection said he had the potential to be the transformative leader that MARTA sorely needed. The transit system had been slashing service and hemorrhaging red ink as far as the eye could see.
I was not optimistic. MARTA leadership has been a revolving door.
Today, after a full year of Keith Parker’s leadership, I can safely say that I was wrong, a rare statement to be made by someone in elected office. There is cause for optimism at MARTA, and Mr. Parker is at the root of it.
When Keith Parker arrived at MARTA, there was a management audit sitting on his desk that the accounting and consulting firm KPMG had completed in 2012 at the behest of MARTA’s prior management. KPMG recommended, among other things, the privatization of certain aspects of MARTA’s operations … .
Keith Parker assured me that the KPMG audit would not collect dust. I adopted the Ronald Reagan doctrine: “Trust but verify.” After all, savings and efficiency have not been MARTA’s strong suit over the years.
KPMG furnished a five-year road map for implementing its privatization recommendations. Keith Parker is following through with his commitment. He and his staff are making progress where progress desperately needs to be made.
The Legislature and MARTA, a state-created authority, historically have had a chilly relationship. Listen closely, however, and you will hear the dripping of thawing ice.
From a March 25 AJC op-ed by MARTA CEO Keith T. Parker:
When Georgia lawmakers approved most of MARTA’s 2014 legislative agenda last week, it seemed to signal a hopeful vote of confidence in the progress we’re making to ensure metro Atlanta’s transit system continues to improve.
House Bill 264, better known as the MARTA bill, included key initiatives the agency wanted to implement but which first required legislative action. Overall, the bill’s passage complements the transformational efforts now underway to streamline MARTA’s business practices, hold folks accountable for misbehaving and continue on a path of fiscal sustainability. Most important to me, the Legislature did not mandate any new oversight or actions that would limit my ability to run the agency.
Although separate from MARTA’s legislative wish list, transit supporters cheered the passage of House Bill 265. This measure allows Clayton County to levy a one-cent sales tax to possibly join MARTA. Since the 2010 demise of Clayton’s C-Tran bus service, public calls for new transit service have been mounting.
