Leaders Push Transit Plan That Ends MARTA

Imagine taking a train from Marietta to Lawrenceville, then grabbing a connection to Winder. Some metro Atlanta leaders hope that could become a reality with a new regional transit authority, but that will require action from lawmakers and a possible sales tax hike for some.

Several leaders, including Sandy Springs Mayor Eva Galambos, are pushing for the idea of a regional transit authority. For Galambos, it's partly an issue of equity.

“It isn’t fair for two counties to pay two cents and the other counties to pay one cent unless those other counties want to start paying for transit," Galambos told Channel 2's Mike Petchenik.

Galambos referred to the extra one cent sales tax Fulton and DeKalb counties and the city of Atlanta currently pay to fund MARTA.

Galambos said it doesn't pay for each county to operate its own transit system.

Next summer, voters will be asked to approve a referendum that would allow regions to add a penny sales tax to spend on a wish list of transportation-related projects submitted by governments across the state.

Galambos said she's hopeful lawmakers will pass a regional transit bill before the referendum, giving voters in other counties the option to pay into the system.

“I think your legislators need to exert all they can exert on this rapid transit committee that has done nothing," she said.

MARTA CEO Beverly Scott told Petchenik she supports the idea of regional transit.

"We need to be thinking and doing as one," she said, adding that metro Atlanta is lagging behind the rest of the country when it comes to transit.

Scott pointed to the recent failure of Clayton County's C-Tran as a reason why going it alone isn't always successful.

"Trying to have five transit systems running around in this region… makes no sense," she said.

"I’m working here to put us out of business," said Scott, adding that she would support dissolving MARTA into the larger authority if it made sense. Scott said she believes MARTA could help shape the future of the authority if it were to become a reality.

Both Galambos and Scott don't believe the regional transit bill will make it out of the legislature this session.