ATLANTA — Newly-appointed MARTA General Manager and CEO Jonathan Hunt was in Washington DC with more than a dozen similar leaders for the National Transit Safety and Security Summit.
Hunt worked to lobby for federal investment in safety upgrades and resources for MARTA.
He said in a statement that MARTA was the only agency at the summit that does not receive dedicated state funding, even for safety initiatives.
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“Metro Atlanta is now the sixth-largest region in the nation, yet MARTA remains the only major agency at this week’s National Transit Safety and Security Summit that receives no dedicated state funding, not even for safety initiatives,” Hunt said in a statement.
Channel 2 Action News reported when Hunt took over as the interim GM and CEO in August, months after then-CEO Collie Greenwood resigned in June amidst a visa and immigration status issue.
Hunt was recently named to the top position permanently.
Discussing MARTA’s needs, for both funding and security, Hunt wrote that “our agency currently relies primarily on local sales tax and farebox revenue, which we are using to make significant investments in safety infrastructure and people.”
Hunt said that included adding 50 sworn MARTA police officers and working on infrastructure repair and expansion projects.
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He said that while MARTA was seeking additional federal dollars to help their situation, MARTA also needed help at the state level.
“We are asking our federal partners to meet us halfway and provide additional dollars to help us make our system even safer,” Hunt said. “At the same time, we are calling on Georgia lawmakers to invest in transit, a key economic development engine for our region. We urge the metro Atlanta community to stand with us in securing this vital state and federal support.”
The need for further safety investments was highlighted ahead of and during the FIFA World Cup’s arrival in Atlanta.
Channel 2 Action News reported when the Federal Transit Administration opened an investigation into MARTA in the wake of multiple violent attacks that garnered widespread attention nationally, over the summer.
FTA staff were in Atlanta to meet with MARTA leaders and review the metro area transit system in August but the results of their ongoing investigation have not yet been shared with MARTA or the public.
In a statement, MARTA said it “hosted a visiting delegation from the FTA on Wednesday, August 26, and Thursday, August 27. We don’t have a definitive timeline for when the FTA will issue its final report, but they have indicated that they are working diligently.”
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