ATLANTA — After months of construction and upgrades, MARTA is nearing a major milestone in its overhaul of the Breeze fare system. But several more changes are coming that riders will notice in the weeks ahead.
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During Thursday’s board meeting, MARTA CEO Jonathan Hunt said installation of all 450 new fare gates and 249 ticket machines at rail stations was expected to be completed Friday, Nov. 13.
The agency has also finished installing new fare readers across its bus and mobility fleets. Riders will be able to tap their Breeze cards or use contactless payment methods.
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Here’s what’s changing next:
- Streetcar: New ticket machines and fare readers are installed and expected to become operational early next week.
- Bus rapid transit: Installation of fare readers and ticket machines at BRT stations is about 70% to 75% complete. MARTA expects all equipment to be operational by the end of November.
- Buying Breeze cards: MARTA is expanding where customers can purchase and reload cards. Retailers including 7-Eleven, CVS, RaceTrac and Walgreens are part of the effort. Those partnerships represent 409 of the approximately 570 stores MARTA expects to carry Breeze cards.
- Fare enforcement: MARTA is targeting the second week of December to begin installing magnetic locks on emergency exit doors to improve security. Peachtree Center Station is expected to be ready in early January 2027. The agency also plans to begin using fare inspection devices as part of its effort to reduce fare evasion.
What about the new trains?
MARTA also gave an update on its new CQ400 railcars.
Hunt said the trains are getting close to completing the testing required before they can begin carrying passengers.
He did not give a specific start date, saying the agency will not put the trains into service until they are ready and safety and reliability are assured.
The Better Breeze project is a systemwide overhaul of MARTA’s fare equipment, including its gates, ticket machines, bus fare readers and mobile app.
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