MARTA Wants Rate Hikes to Help Financial Stability

Local residents wondering where MARTA plans to spend the sales tax money collected for the transit agency can find out at a public hearing on its 2012 budget on Tuesday at the North Fulton Service Center in Sandy Springs.

Regular bus and train riders will immediately note the fare increases. The base fare of $2 is proposed for a 50 cent increase. A weekly pass would cost $6.75 more, with a monthly pass going up $27 to $95.

In addition, the proposal includes the continuation of staggered increases for Mobility base fare, reduced fare and Mobility passes as indicated in the previous, FY 2010 base fare increase. Mobility base fare, reduced fare and Mobility passes will not be impacted by the proposed FY 2012 base fare increase.

MARTA will hold a series of public hearings on Monday, May 16 and Tuesday, May 17, presenting its proposed Fiscal Year 2012 Operating Budget of $413.76 million, a Capital Budget totaling $185.5 million and $143.7 million in debt service. The closest meeting will be on Tuesday at 7 p.m.:

• North Fulton Service Center
  7741 Roswell Road
  Sandy Springs, GA  30350
  Taking MARTA:  Bus route 87 from Dunwoody Station

For the fourth year in a row, no annual merit or wage increases for any employees would be made.

The MARTA Board of Directors invites the community to provide feedback on the proposed FY 2012 budget. At the hearings, MARTA staff will provide an overview of the proposed fare and pass price increases, service improvements to bus routes 3, 25, 50, 51, 99, and 181, and enhancements to security initiatives.

If approved by the Board of Directors as part of the FY 2012 budget, bus service enhancements would be implemented Sept. 24, and fare changes would take effect Oct. 2.

Copies of the proposed budget, fare changes, and service modifications are available for review at MARTA’s Office of External Affairs, 2424 Piedmont Road, N.E. Atlanta, Georgia 30324 during regular business hours, Monday – Friday from 8:30 a.m.–5 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m.-noon, and on the MARTA website www.itsmarta.com. (Note: The 2012 budget proposal could not be found on the MARTA site on May 15. MARTA staff has been asked for its location. Any reader who finds it can add the location in a comment to this story.)

A summary of the proposed budget, fare changes and bus service modifications can be requested by leaving a message on MARTA’s comment line, 404-848-5299. The proposed budget will also be available for public inspection an hour before each hearing, and MARTA staff will be on hand to provide information and answer questions.

Patrons may request information in an accessible format by calling MARTA’s Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity at 404-848-4037. For patrons requiring further accommodations, information can be obtained by calling the Telephone Device for the Deaf (TDD) at 404-848-5665.  In addition, a sign language interpreter will be available at all hearings.