MARTA CEO joins transit leaders asking feds for more safety dollars

WASHINGTON — The leaders of America’s largest transit systems say there are common problems that plague them all, including riders who do not pay their fare on trains and buses, cybersecurity threats and a need to modernize systems.

But despite these challenges, they told federal officials Tuesday attending the National Transit Safety and Security Summit that public transportation in America is safe and supports cities and states by getting workers to their jobs and tourists to their destination during major events like The World Cup.

MARTA CEO Jonathan Hunt, who attended the summit, acknowledged that recent violent incidents, including a woman who was stabbed to death on a train this summer, brought negative attention on the agency and renewed questions about the safety for its employees and passengers.

The transit leaders participating in the Washington summit made the pitch that federal dollars are needed to ensure transit systems like MARTA have the money to improve their facilities and beef up patrols.

“Our police chief has increased the number of sworn officers by 50; that’s an increase of well over 20%,” Hunt said. “So, we’re making the investments to meet the federal government more than halfway. All we’re asking, collectively, is meet us halfway so that we can continue those investments for a safe and secure system.”

Hunt was joined by leaders from roughly a dozen other transit agencies in New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Cleveland.

MARTA CEO Jonathan Hunt, flanked by leaders of the nation's other large transit agencies, speaks at a press conference on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026, in Washington as part of the National Transit Safety & Security Summit. (Courtesy of Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority/Jonathan Corbett)

They met with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and leaders of the Transportation Security Administration and Federal Transit Administration before heading to the Capitol for more meetings with House and Senate leaders who control the purse strings.

The leader of the Washington Metropolitan Transition Authority, Randy Clarke, said these agencies’ collective 161,000 employees are responsible for 4 billion bus and train rides. He noted that Congress passed a bipartisan infrastructure bill in 2021, and programs funding transportation projects and road resurfacing are funded through December, but they could always use more.

“So far, the conversations are great, but we definitely need that partnership, and it has to be bipartisan support,” Clarke said.

While federal partners were the focus of Hunt’s trip this week, he said he also plans to make the pitch to Georgia legislators that it is time for the state to begin supporting MARTA. He said all the other agencies represented at this week’s summit receive state funding except his.

“The region is now the sixth largest in the United States,” Hunt said of metro Atlanta. “Our state needs to invest in one of the assets that helps propel the region.”

Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said that if elected governor she would be in favor of a new, dedicated state funding stream for MARTA and other transit systems in Georgia. Currently, federal funding, local tax dollars and fares comprise the bulk of MARTA funding.