Do you want to have 3 1/2 extra days a year? Marta doesn't?

Image from Wiki

Mass transit versus Driving
Or
Economy versus Comfort
Or
Green versus pollutant
Or
Obnoxious riders versus obnoxious tailgaters

Whatever comparison you use to decide if you drive in or take the train  -there are two factors that trump all comparisons






Time and Money




How long does it take to get there, and how much is this going to put me out?

Marta could help sway this equation in their favor by running express and local trains. This would save commuters nearly an hour off their travel time each week.  A total of 3.5 days per year.





On January 3rd, my office moved from downtown to midtown.
Coming in from Stone Mountain, this forced me to transfer at Five Points.

My commute was a short drive to Indian Creek, and then catch the 7:52 train to Five Points. Now a third leg has been added.  The dreaded transfer to the North line!

The success of this transfer is dependent on Marta keeping their posted schedule. If anyone has ever tried to ride the train off of the schedule, you have to wonder why the even post them.

Back to the issue in hand, as it stands now, time and money are about a wash. It takes a about 10 more minutes on Marta, and cost a bit more to drive when operating costs are figured in.

But what can Marta do?
Easy, make it more efficient and faster.
Make it a no brainier to take public transit.

How?

Eliminate time wasted by slowing - stopping - and talking off at stations where there are not any riders.


Stop at stations where people board.
To find where the holes are, I did a non-scientific survey.

I called it "How many people are getting on the train."
I counted how many people walk through the same set of train doors that I just walked though.

And the results:
Indian Creek 17 people
Kensington 10 people
Avondale 8 people
Decatur 2 people
East Lake 1 person
Edgewood 0 people
Imman 1person
King 0 people
GA State 0 people

Conclusion: Marta should run an express train to reflect the demand.

There should be an express train that bypasses stations where passengers are not boarding.
The infrastructure is already present.
Green - Local
Blue - Express

Marta could save approx 1 minuet per station skipped (slowing down and taking off).
Express train would bypasses:
East Lake 1
Edgewood 0
Imman 1
King 0
GA State 0

What that equal?
=5 minuets shaved off each trip
=10 minuets per round trip
=50 minuets per week
=2,600 minuets per year or

=43 HOURS SAVED IF THERE WAS AN EXPRESS TRAIN!

Marta is wasting 3.5 days of your life by not responding to ridership.

Feel free to let them know:
Click Here to Contact
Marta is also on Twitter: @MARTAMARKETING