ATLANTA — MARTA is changing course ahead of the full rollout of the Better Breeze system.
Channel 2 Action News previously reported when the transit agency was telling riders their balances would not be transferable and urging them to get those rides in before the funds were gone.
The agency is making adjustments weeks after the plan was shared with MARTA riders across the region.
Channel 2’s Candace McCowan was at the North Springs MARTA Station, where some riders started speaking up when they learned they could lose some of the funds they’d put in for rides across the system.
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As with most transit systems, the more rides you buy, the cheaper it is.
With the current Breeze card system going away in a few months, some riders were worried they’d lose the money they already had loaded on their cards.
“We have a group of folks who ride down the H.E. Holmes, we ride MARTA to the games, to special events downtown, so it’s much easier, just more convenient,” MARTA rider Roni Barker said.
Barker is an Atlanta United season ticket holder and she also enjoys Atlanta Falcons games.
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As a Cobb County resident, Barker told Channel 2 Action News she’s found MARTA is the best way to get to Mercedes Benz Stadium.
“It gets us there quick and cheap, don’t have to pay for parking downtown,” Barker said. “I preload my card for Falcons games, for Atlanta United games.”
It was a good deal for Barker, until she saw a recent social media post from MARTA about the new payment system being installed. It said Breeze card balances will not carry over.
“So what do you do when you have all of these rides preloaded and we’re not daily riders?” Barker asked.
Barker is among many who went online to respond. After Channel 2 Action News reached out to MARTA on Tuesday, a week after the agency said balances would not transfer, the agency said it will now accommodate a balance transfer.
For riders, word is getting out about the new payment system, Better Breeze, and they’re paying attention to how much they put on their cards.
“I usually do two months, I’m not going to do that, I’m going to do trip by trip or at least week by week,” Johnae Porch, MARTA customer, said.
MARTA said it will release more details on how to transfer those balances next month and is now taking steps to help riders not have large balances.
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