The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority is the principal public transit agency in metropolitan Atlanta. It primarily serves Fulton, Clayton, and Dekalb counties. MARTA's formation in 1965 was a result of the campaigning efforts of governmental planning agencies and Atlanta businessmen. The system broke ground on its rail system in 1975.
Background
The first mention of rapid transit for Atlanta occurred in a series of regional planning reports prepared by the Metropolitan Planning Commission (MPC) in 1950 and 1954. The 1950 report, named Up Ahead, and the 1954 report, named Now for Tomorrow, both primarily dealt with freeway planning, but both specifically mentioned the long-range need for rapid transit in Atlanta.
The MPC began to study rapid transit further, and in two subsequent reports (Access to central Atlanta and Crosstown and bypass expressways) the MPC concluded that increased highway construction would not be adequate to meet future transportation needs. These recommendations were not welcomed by the Georgia Highway Department, who believed that highways were an adequate solution.
Three reports were published in the early 1960s helped to give momentum to the push for rapid transit. Two reports were from the Atlanta Region Metropolitan Planning Commission (ARMPC): a 1960 report titled What you should know about rapid transit and a 1961 report titled Atlanta region comprehensive plan: rapid transit which called for of high speed rapid rail transport serving five counties at a cost of $200–215 million. These reports viewed transit as a means to shaping and planning the future of the Atlanta region, as well as maintaining Atlanta's role as a regional center in the southeast. The third report, titled Rapid Atlanta was published in 1960 by the Atlanta Transit System which proposed a $59 million first phase of a rapid transit system. This report received support in Atlanta's business community; in 1961 the president of the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, Ivan Allen, named a rapid transit steering committee, which included Robert L. Sommerville, president of the Atlanta Transit System (Atlanta's public busing system), and was headed by Richard Rich, a former Chamber president. This committee worked with the ARMPC to send speakers to civic organizations and business groups to discuss rapid transit. Also in 1961 Atlanta mayor William Hartsfield appointed a rapid transit committee which worked with the ARMPC to lobby members of the Georgia General Assembly to look favorably on rapid transit. In 1962 the lobbying efforts proved successful; the Georgia legislature created the Metropolitan Atlanta Transit Study Commission (MATSC).
Formation of MARTA
A state constitutional amendment was required to establish a regional transportation agency. In November 1962 this amendment was approved by a majority of voters in DeKalb and Fulton counties but failed to pass statewide. The amendment did not specify the composition of the agency but stated in more general terms the nature of powers for the agency (taxing, eminent domain, expenditure of public funds) that would be designated by the state to a lower agency for the purposes of transit planning. As a result, many rural voters believed they were committing themselves to pay for a transit system in Atlanta. Opposition was also raised by the trucking industry in defense of highway funds.
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 , 42 station rapid rail transit system with feeder buses and park-and-ride facilities across five counties centered upon downtown Atlanta. In March 1963 the MATSC formed a committee which came to be known as the Rapid Transit Committee of 100 for the purpose of financing and publicizing the rapid transit campaign as outlined in the December 1962 report. In the same year the MATSC was dissolved by the state and replaced by a new organization called the Georgia State Study Commission. The Study Commission reviewed and approved the previous MATSC transit plan. 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). Approval was slim in Cobb county where the margin was only 403 votes.
The 1965 Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority Act was authored by State Senator Ben F. Johnson of DeKalb County. 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. In June 1965 voters in four of the five counties approved the creation of MARTA; only 43 percent of voters approved MARTA in Cobb County. MARTA was officially formed in January 1966.
1968 referendum MARTA began work on developing a new 4 county rapid transit plan. In 1967 the agency published a new plan, titled Special Report - Rapid Transit for Metropolitan Atlanta, a rapid transit rail system, at a cost of $190 million more than the previous MATSC plan. Fears about the cost of the plan were published in a counter-proposal by Robert Somerville of the Atlanta Transit System, titled Rapid Busways, challenging the MARTA plan. Rapid Busways called for the creation of a network of busways at a cost of $52 million as an interim plan to Atlanta's transit needs.
MARTA consultants worked to update the original MATSC plan into a smaller rapid rail system, however this report was not published until September 1968. In November 1968 a Fulton County, DeKalb County, and city of Atlanta referendum allowing MARTA to move into capital programs failed to pass, receiving only 44.5 percent voter support. The failure of the funding referendum to pass has been attributed to many reasons: The continuing controversy over the use of rail transport over busway transit The decision of local transit unions to campaign against the referendum because it did not contain collective bargaining provisions Conservatives claimed that the plan was financially irresponsible since Federal government financial support was not guaranteed Low-income and suburban homeowners objected to the use of property tax to fund MARTA Voters on the edge of the system objected because they felt that residents of the city of Atlanta would receive more benefits Atlanta's black community complained it had not been involved in the planning and would not receive adequate service Local officials in the region were not involved in planning Publicity of the plan by MARTA was poor (despite a MARTA-sponsored fact-finding trip to Montreal and Toronto attended by many Atlanta business leaders to ride their existing subways)
1971 referendum As a result of the 1968 referendum failure, MARTA began to address some of the controversial issues. MARTA enlisted the support of organized labor by amending the MARTA legislation to include collective bargaining provisions. Also MARTA began a campaign to draw in public officials and blacks into the planning of MARTA. MARTA also modified proposed service plans to include improved service to black neighborhoods, including its decision to use rail instead of bus service for the east–west and Proctor Creek Lines. Also the financial support of the system was changed from an unpopular property tax increase to a one-percent sales tax. Finally MARTA pledged to reduce bus fares to 15 cents for the first seven years.
The plan on the 1971 referendum showed of rapid rail lines in 4 counties and of busways. Voters in DeKalb (52% support) and Fulton (51% support) counties approved the proposal, and voters in Clayton (23% support) and Gwinnett (21% support) defeated the proposal. The voters in Clayton and Gwinnett may have reacted negatively to the proposed plan which included only of the rail system would have served both counties. Additionally the method of counting votes was changed for the 1971 referendum. In 1968 voters were grouped into three groups (all of which required a majority for passing): voters in the city limits of Atlanta, voters in Fulton county outside the city limits, and voters in DeKalb outside of the city limits. In 1971 the city votes were counted in the appropriate counties (DeKalb and Fulton), allowing the mostly yes votes from the city to be tabulated against the mostly no votes from the suburban areas in the county.
Initial construction In 1971 MARTA purchased the Atlanta Transit System for $12.8 million. In 1973 the state legislature established the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Overview Committee. In 1975 groundbreaking of the rail system took place. Also in 1975 the Urban Mass Transportation Administration offered $600 million to MARTA for a six-year period for rail transit construction.
East-West Line construction Construction on the East Line began in 1975 and the first rail service began on June 30, 1979, between the Georgia State and Avondale stations. In June 1993, the Kensington and Indian Creek stations opened, which also marked the first time MARTA rail service went outside I-285.
The West Line opened between Hightower (now Hamilton E. Holmes) and Five Points stations, on December 22, 1979. On December 12, 1992, the Proctor Creek Branch and Bankhead Station opened. The 1979 plan for the West Line also included an additional station at Fairburn Road (later shortened to Brownlee-Boulder Park) and another station was planned at the then-existing Perry Homes housing project on the Proctor Creek Line.
North-South Line construction On December 4, 1981, the North-South Line opened from Garnett to North Avenue, including Civic Center and the lower level of Five Points. On September 11, 1982, the line was expanded to Arts Center, and the Peachtree Center Station (whose opening was delayed from 1981) also opened. The section between Lindbergh Center and Brookhaven opened on December 15, 1984. The line reached Chamblee in 1987, and the Doraville terminus was finished in 1992. The section between Lenox and Doraville was redesignated the Northeast Line on June 8, 1996, when the North Line opened between Buckhead and Dunwoody stations, including a stretch in the Georgia 400 median. The last two North Line stations to open were Sandy Springs and North Springs, on December 16, 2000.
The Garnett station opened on December 4, 1981, and was the first South Line station to open. The section between the West End and Lakewood-Fort McPherson opened on December 15, 1984. The East Point Station opened on August 16, 1986. and the College Park and Airport Stations opened on June 18, 1988. The Airport Station however, was built in 1980 as part of the construction of Hartsfield International Airport and was unused until the line was connected in 1988.
Previous expansion plans MARTA was built with at least three stubs for rail lines which were never built. 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). The Northwest line was cut back to a distance of two stations, and next the idea was dropped entirely.