Atlanta goes regional

Georgia’s new transportation authority will focus on regional funding and planning, says Andrew Bardin Williams – and hopes to be a model for reorganisation across the US With an eye toward eventually creating Mobility as a Service (MaaS) in the Atlanta metropolitan area, the Georgia state legislature has shaken up how transportation is managed by creating a new regional transit governance and funding organisation. The Atlanta-region Transit Link Authority (The ATL) will be responsible for transit plann
August 22, 2018 Read time: 4 mins
Tomlinson: transportation is an economic mobility engine, connecting people to jobs across the region
Georgia’s new transportation authority will focus on regional funding and planning, says Andrew Bardin Williams – and hopes to be a model for reorganisation across the US


With an eye toward eventually creating Mobility as a Service (8356 MaaS) in the Atlanta metropolitan area, the Georgia state legislature has shaken up how transportation is managed by creating a new regional transit governance and funding organisation.

The Atlanta-region Transit Link Authority (The ATL) will be responsible for transit planning across 13 counties, providing a truly cohesive regional plan that offers people a seamless transportation experience across agencies like the city’s MARTA rapid transit rail and various local and commuter bus systems - and eventually, bikeshare, parking agencies and perhaps rental cars. The legislation also allows The ATL to implement unified fare payment systems, improve routing and scheduling across jurisdictions and to consolidate purchasing, maintenance and operations.

Mobility as a right


In addition to being an economic development engine, Chris Tomlinson, executive director of the 1616 Georgia Regional Transportation Authority, argues that transportation is also an economic mobility engine, connecting people to jobs across the region. He hopes that the regional focus of The ATL will help him identify pockets underserved by transportation options and expand transit to those areas.

According to Tomlinson, no other US metropolitan area has organised transportation governance and funding exactly in this way. Other cities - Denver, Chicago and Dallas, for example - have set up regional authorities, but they continue to be primarily funded by local taxes while Atlanta’s new structure relies on more of a mix of state and local funding.

Getting the region’s transit agencies to work together more closely and give riders a seamless riding experience requires the buy-in of the other agencies. In addition, the legislation requires that any transportation asset over $250,000 will need to be embossed with The ATL branding rather than the local agency’s name and logo.

Losing control


Tomlinson admits that some are worried about losing governance and control over their operations but most directors are on board. In fact, Jeff Parker, general manager of MARTA, the largest transit agency in the area - and theoretically the organisation with the most to lose - has been vocal and visible in his support for The ATL. “There’s no doubt that we need to work together better,” Parker told ITS International’s MaaS Atlanta conference. “We understand that this is so the entire regional network works better as a whole.”

The eventual goal is for someone to fly into Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson airport, take an ATL-branded train to downtown, switch to an ATL local bus and then use bikeshare to travel the final mile - creating a seamless riding experience with unified payment and routing systems. With that in mind, Tomlinson hopes The ATL becomes a model for how transportation is planned, funded and operated across the US.

The ATL: how it works

The Atlanta-region Transit Link Authority (The ATL) will be overseen by a 16-member board made up of five people appointed by state officials (two by the speaker of the house and three by the governor) and 10 citizens appointed by local officials. The Georgia Department of Transportation commissioner also joins as a non-voting member. The citizen members of the board will come from 10 transit districts drawn across county lines to encourage regional - rather than local - thinking.

The legislation creating the new transit authority creates several new transit funding options in the Atlanta region. The latest state budget includes $100 million in bonds available for regional projects, and The ATL can issue its own bonds or work with other state agencies to issue them. In addition, individual communities can put local referendums on the ballot to raise taxes by up to 1% for up to 30 years to pay for construction and operations.

Projects funded by these taxes must be included in the regional transit plan and approved by The ATL board. No new taxes will be levied on local jurisdictions unless approved by voters.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • New Mersey crossing ends Halton’s congestion misery
    December 5, 2017
    Plagued by intolerable congestion but denied government funding for its solution, tiny Halton Borough Council relentlessly pursued its vision and achieved what many believed impossible. Halton may be a small local authority in north west England, but it had a big traffic problem. However, as the road, or more particularly the bridge, involved was not deemed a strategic route, central government would not commission or even fund a solution - a problem that many other local authorities will recognise.
    Read More
  • BlackBerry’s Jeff Davis: ‘Hands off 5.9GHz!’
    September 25, 2019
    As a US Marine, BlackBerry’s Jeff Davis saw the world’s trouble spots. But much of his attention is now focused on what he sees as the ITS sector’s biggest issue: cybersecurity. Adam Hill finds out more Oh, I often feel I’m the dumbest guy in the room,” laughs Jeff Davis, senior director, connected transportation, at BlackBerry. It’s hard to credit this. Davis has a range of experience that sets him apart from most people in the ITS sector. He was in the US Marine Corps, with seven tours of duty, inclu
    Read More
  • Meeting the challenges of smartcard fare payment
    July 4, 2012
    David Crawford monitors a growing trend in contactless smartcard ticketing The north east United States has become a hive of activity in the smart fare payment arena. In October 2011, the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) published, as a preliminary to an imminent procurement process, the detailed concept of its New Fare Payment System (NFPS). Based on open payment industry standards, this is designed to be implemented on all MTA bus and subway services operated by New York City Transit (
    Read More
  • LA approves $400bn 30-year transport plan
    September 30, 2020
    City hopes multi-billion, long-term investment will ease traffic delays and reduce air pollution
    Read More

Highlighted Content