external-linkRelated: Increasing Access to Housing Affordability and JobsWith this backdrop, the state of Georgia contributes significantly less to transit services than our direct economic competitor states and ranks poorly against national averages. Transit service in the Atlanta region has primarily been funded through fares, federal funds, local sales taxes, and locally-generated property taxes and fees.

A Xpress bus in front of the Georgia State Capital
Regional commuter bus service is an important part of metro Atlanta’s transportation network.

Chart - Comparison of Georgia to Selected Competitor States

Regional Players

external-linkRelated: Commuting in Metro Atlanta

Insights & Innovation

As the Atlanta region has grown over the past half-century, so has its transportation needs. To meet transit service needs, multiple systems beyond the original MARTA have sprung up, including county-operated bus or vanpool services in Cobb, Gwinnett, Cherokee, Henry, and Douglas counties.

ARC has facilitated dialogue over the past 15 years about how to make transit trips more seamless for the customer, first through the Regional Transit Institutional Analysis, then the Transit Planning Board, which finally evolved into the Regional Transit Committee of today. ARC also endorsed in 2011 a potential regional governance framework, containing many ideas which have merit in current legislative discussions.

To fulfill the vision of a comprehensive regional transit network for the 21st century, ARC is committed to work with legislators and other stakeholders on a governance framework that allows this vision to become reality.