History of Transit in Atlanta
MARTA is in a fiscal crisis and Atlanta lacks a seamless regional transit system. The root causes of this crisis go back to MARTA's establishment. For three decades the whole system has been misshaped by transit racism. Atlanta-bashing suburban and state politicians have put privilege and profits before the transit needs of people across our region.
Suburban counties have refused to join the system. The City of Atlanta and Fulton and DeKalb Counties have footed the bill for a system that benefits the whole region. Yet Clayton and Gwinnett Counties have seats on the MARTA board!
State government has refused to support the system. Unlike other large transit systems around the country, MARTA receives no state funding for its operating budget. Yet the State of Georgia has a seat on the MARTA board!
The small, privatized suburban systems in Cobb, Gwinnett, and Clayton Counties cannot provide the service we need. We live in a vast, interconnected metro Atlanta region. We need a single system centered on Atlanta and serving the whole region - what MARTA was originally intended to be!