I think that my experiences with Marta are one of those “ARGHGHGHGHG FUCK YOU MARTA!!!! *thrusts fists to sky*”, but then, I ride it again later down the road. I will never swear it off forever, but I just need to vent when they do crap like they did Sunday.

If I didn’t hear the person announce the need to ride a Doraville train, I can bet that others didn’t as well. In fact, there was a group of three people that waited just like I did, on the other side of the platform. They didn’t look as annoyed, but maybe it was because they had each other to talk to. Perhaps I noticed it more because I was riding by myself.

Who knows.

I know that Marta isn’t perfect, and there is a lot they could do to improve it, but that doesn’t mean that I am not glad that it is here. I wish it would grow and expand, and become even better. These sessions of venting only echo my desire for it to be what it currently isn’t; but that doesn’t underscore the fact that I am glad that we at least have SOMETHING, you know?

just think about it a little more before you swear it off forever, that’s all i ask.

oh and forgive my preachy-ness. there are alot of misconceptions about marta and those of us that love it can get defensive at times.

cheers.

huh?

why would i make that up? if you must know i got on at mlk at around 11:00, rode to lenox, and then to chamblee. back to five points and then finally back to mlk.

the trains had a fair amount of people on them, about typical for a sunday, but nothing like what you would see on the tube or the metro in paris during the weekend., or even marta during rush hour.

of course they run less trains because there are less passengers. that is why it is called off peak.

the signs were all over the northbound platform. i saw at least two of them. maybe you just missed them?

also, they were announcing it all the time. i heard the station manager saying it over and over while i was waiting. perhaps you didn’t hear them.

your comparison to every other transit system? there are only like 6 that are as extensive than marta. granted, at least three maybe four of them are better than marta – boston, nyc, dc and maybe bart in san fran – but that is the result of extensive work demanded by riders. boston’s transit system was all but falling apart a decade ago, and when guiliani was elected in nyc the mta had a crime rate that would make zimbabwe look safe. septa in philly and cta in chicago are no fun at all.

have you ever ridden dart in dallas? what a disaster, you can’t even get to the airport without changing systems twice and taking a shuttle bus. houston doesn’t even have trains. try taking public transit in la. good luck.

marta isn’t great. it has problems and needs a lot of work. that being said, every day it moves tens of thousands of us around – to and from our jobs, sporting events, etc. is it more inconvenient sometimes, sure? but considering the costs individually and to our world that driving entails, it is an inconvenience i am willing to deal with.

As far as your experience, and the fact that you saw signs indicating the need to ride a Doraville train to Lindbergh, and then change, I am glad that you got the information you needed, but I did not. When I changed from my east/west bound train, I got off to the center of the tracks, and simply went downstairs, like I usually do, to the northbound platform. You probably noticed the large LCD screens that project ad after ad, and that usually scroll important information on them (such as, when the next train can be expected); however, on Sunday, the only thing scrolling was “welcome to Marta”. I know, because I watched it for over 40 minutes. There were no other signs. Additionally, they did announce the need to take a Doraville train; AFTER 2 other trains had already passed, and ONLY when the third train was about to leave. Again, I find that unacceptable.

If Marta is doing “single tracking” to improve their lines, I think that at a BARE minimum, that they should let their riders know by posting notices in conspicuous places; one sign at the entrance to five points (if that was even there, I don’t know, as I didn’t exit the station, I only changed there) doesn’t cut it. I am all for them improving the system, even with inconveniences to the riders, but a heads up is the least that they could provide; unfortunately, they failed to do even that on Sunday.

btw – i rode marta all over town on sunday, including a change at five points, twice. i saw multiple signs on the northbound platform indicating the need to ride the doraville train and heard the station manager announce it over the p.a. multiple times while i was standing on the platform.

by the way, the reason you had to do that is for ‘single tracking’ which marta is doing in an attempt to upgrades their tracks to improve performance.

should they do the single tracking monday morning at 7:30 am?