History of Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority
This committee worked with the ARMPC to send speakers to civic organizations and business groups to discuss rapid transit.
In 1962 the lobbying efforts proved successful; the Georgia legislature created the Metropolitan Atlanta Transit Study Commission (MATSC).
In November 1962 this amendment was approved by a majority of voters in DeKalb and Fulton counties but failed to pass statewide.
In December 1962 the MATSC published a report titled A Plan and Program of Rapid Transit for the Atlanta Metropolitan Region which called for a 66-mile (106 km), 42 station rapid rail transit system with feeder buses and park-and-ride facilities across five counties centered upon downtown Atlanta.
The continued campaigning by regional and local groups led to the passing of a second transit-enabling state constitutional amendment in 1964.
This second amendment however was not proposed statewide but was placed only on the ballots of five metropolitan Atlanta counties (Fulton, Cobb, Gwinnett, DeKalb, and Clayton).
[2] In March of that year it was passed by the Georgia legislature setting up a rapid transit agency but required ratification by the five counties.
MARTA consultants worked to update the original MATSC plan into a smaller 40-mile (64 km) rapid rail system, however this report was not published until September 1968.
The voters in Clayton and Gwinnett may have reacted negatively to the proposed plan which included only 9 miles (14 km) of the rail system would have served both counties.
Also in 1975 the Urban Mass Transportation Administration offered $600 million to MARTA for a six-year period for rail transit construction.
In June 1993, the Kensington and Indian Creek stations opened, which also marked the first time MARTA rail service went outside I-285.
On December 4, 1981, the North-South Line opened from Garnett to North Avenue, including Civic Center and the lower level of Five Points.
The Northwest Line towards Cobb County has a stub tunnel east of Atlantic Station, but that redevelopment has not been built with a MARTA station in mind, and Cobb County would instead most likely get a light rail or commuter rail system (either of which have been studied) or a bus rapid transit service (see Northwest Corridor HOV/BRT).
This time, the referendum was approved and Clayton County voted to join MARTA, the system's first ever expansion outside of Fulton, Dekalb and the city of Atlanta.
The Proctor Creek branch was also projected to go one more station northwestward to the West Highlands neighborhood, but no work has been done on that one either.
In early April 2009, the Georgia General Assembly created a budget crisis for MARTA by failing to pass a bill that would allow it to access its own capital reserve account, in order to compensate for a severe drop in sales-tax revenue during the late-2000s recession.
MARTA stated that this could force the agency to discontinue operations one day out of the week, possibly a weekday.
Governor Sonny Perdue refused to call a special session as requested, and did not issue an executive order as he stated it would not be legal to do so.
[4] Currently the only recent expansion in the entire MARTA system was the development of bus rapid transit along Memorial Drive from Kensington Station to the Goldsmith Road MARTA park and ride lot in Stone Mountain and Ponce De Leon Avenue.
Additionally, several traffic corridors are currently being studied by MARTA for possible system expansion.
The BeltLine is a current proposal for the use of light rail and possibly bus or streetcar service on existing railroad rights-of-way around Atlanta's central business districts.
[6] The conversion of existing rail right-of-way to the proposed BeltLine also calls for the creation of three additional MARTA rapid transit stations where existing lines intersect the Belt Line at Simpson Road, Hulsey Yard, and Murphy Crossing.
Rapid transit alternatives are as of October 2011, under consideration for the Clifton Corridor, from Lindbergh Center, following the CSX rail corridor to Emory University and the Center for Disease Control, with possible continuation along the northern edge of Decatur on to Avondale MARTA station.
From there, such an extension would continue northward through the cities of Sandy Springs, Roswell, and Alpharetta, terminating in the vicinity of Windward Parkway.
According to MARTA Representatives at the April 2015 meetings, the expansion could open in 2025 at the earliest assuming a best-case scenario.
The GDOT integrated option would include sharing normal traffic lanes at least in some parts of the route.
[14] One high-capacity/rail proposal calls for stations at Hapeville, Mountain View/ATL Hartsfield International Terminal, Forest Park, Fort Gillem, Clayton State/Morrow, Morrow/Southlake and Jonesboro by 2022.
[17][18] In November 2016 Gwinnett and Fulton voters approved a half cent sales tax increase for expanding service.
[27] On January 14, 2022, MARTA CEO Jeffrey Parker committed suicide by stepping in front of a moving train at the East Lake station.
Like other transit agencies MARTA saw a steep decline in ridership following COVID Lockdowns and has struggled to regain riders.
