Georgia approves regional transit authority for metro Atlanta

The US state of Georgia is to establish a regional transit governance and funding framework for metro Atlanta. A new entity, called the Atlanta-region Transit Link Authority (ATL), will be created and charged with regional transit planning for 13 counties in metro Atlanta. By 2023, the region’s transit systems, including MARTA, CobbLinc, Gwinnett County Transit and GRTA’s Xpress service, will operate under the ATL brand name. More than 60% of commuters in the region travel to a different county to work, a
April 17, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
The US state of Georgia is to establish a regional transit governance and funding framework for metro Atlanta.


A new entity, called the Atlanta-region Transit Link Authority (ATL), will be created and charged with regional transit planning for 13 counties in metro Atlanta. By 2023, the region’s transit systems, including MARTA, CobbLinc, Gwinnett County Transit and GRTA’s Xpress service, will operate under the ATL brand name.

More than 60% of commuters in the region travel to a different county to work, and a regional transit solution has been a long-standing goal. In a 2017 Metro Atlanta poll, almost 95% of respondents identified improving public transit as important to the region’s future.

State Representative Kevin Tanner said: “Traffic congestion doesn’t stop at the city or county line. It’s a regional problem that requires a regional solution.”

According to Doug Hooker, executive director of the Atlanta Regional Commission, the move will “expand transportation options and better connect communities, improving quality of life for metro Atlanta residents.”

The legislation will allow counties to seek a 1% sales tax increases for up to 30 years to finance construction and operation while providing flexibility and autonomy as each county which must ‘opt in’ to any specific project or funding mechanism. Within the state’s 2019 budget, $100 million has been earmarked to fund state-wide transit projects.

ITS International’s 8545 MaaS Market conference will take place in Atlanta on 9 and 10 May (see %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 link-external www.maas-market.com false http://www.maas-market.com/ false false%>)

UTC

Related Content

  • March 28, 2014
    Co-funding available for European sustainable mobility projects
    CIVITAS Capital is offering co-funding of up to 50 per cent for urban mobility projects. To be eligible, projects must focus on one of six topics: integrated planning; urban freight logistics; demand management strategies; transport telematics; safety and security; and clean fuels and vehicles. The project is supporting the take-up of sustainable urban mobility measures through an Activity Fund. This co-financing mechanism will encourage the transfer of successful measures from ‘pioneer’ cities to ‘take-
    Read More
  • May 23, 2019
    Qualcomm violated antitrust laws, says US district judge
    Qualcomm has been accused of supressing competition from smartphone chip rivals by threatening to cut off supplies and extract licensing fees. US District Judge Lucy Koh has ordered the company to renegotiate licensing agreements at reasonable prices. Qualcomm, a key player in the ITS industry - particularly in the nascent area of 5G technology - refutes the ruling. “We strongly disagree with the judge’s conclusions, her interpretation of the facts and her application of the law,” said Don Rosenberg
    Read More
  • March 20, 2018
    Truvelo launches Eyewitness violation recorder
    Truvelo is launching its new Eyewitness moving violation recorder (MVR) which combines class-leading automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) capabilities with high-definition (HD) video to address a series of driving and criminal offences. Designed to be used from a moving vehicle by police and law-enforcement agencies, Eyewitness is a significant extension of Truvelo’s current, static ANPR solution, which uses a camera provided by a partner company.
    Read More
  • September 3, 2018
    Didi Chuxing issues public apology for death of female passenger
    Chinese ride-sharing company Didi Chuxing has blamed its own ‘vanity’ for lapses in safety which led to the rape and killing of a 20-year-old female passenger. The firm issued a public apology for the incident which took place on 28 August and says it will now prioritise safety over growth. In an emailed statement, Didi founder Cheng Wei and president Jean Liu say: "We see clearly this is because our vanity overtook our original belief. We raced non-stop, riding on the force of breathless expansion and
    Read More

Highlighted Content