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%>)

Urban Traffic Control

Related Content

  • August 30, 2019
    ITS Asia Pacific Forum 2020: entry reminder
    The ITS Asia Pacific (AP) Forum 2020 is accepting entries on the theme of ‘ITS Innovation Creating Liveable Communities’ until 6 September. The programme committee invites submissions for consideration as either scientific, technical or commercial papers. They are also accepting entries for special interest sessions. Additionally, AP 2020 has opened the Future Leaders Programme to recent graduates under 30 years old, allowing them to develop skills they need for academic and professional careers.
    Read More
  • September 2, 2014
    Exploring the future of intelligent road transport
    Connected Vehicles, a conference organised by European Voice, will take place on 18 September 2014 in Brussels. This one-day international event will discuss the main factors of vehicle connectivity with policy-makers and industry leaders of the sectors involved. In May, the European Parliament and the Council approved the deployment of the interoperable EU-wide eCall system. To allow member states to adapt the necessary infrastructure, this emergency call system will have to be operational by October 2017
    Read More
  • February 25, 2019
    Stage Intelligence partners with Smovengo on Paris bike-share
    Artificial intelligence (AI) company Stage Intelligence has linked up with a consortium in a bid to make a Paris bike-share scheme more efficient. Stage is partnering with Smovengo – a grouping which consists of Smoove, Moventia, Mobivia and Park Indigo - to deploy its Bico AI optimisation platform across Smovengo’s Vélib bike-share system in the French capital. The company says its system allows users to collect, manage and visualise data and turn it into actionable insights; it has already been used in
    Read More
  • March 28, 2018
    Uber suspended from resuming Arizona self-driving tests
    Arizona’s state governor Doug Ducey has ordered officials to suspend Uber’s right to test autonomous vehicles on local roads pending the outcome of inquiries by national transport safety regulations – in a report from the BBC. It follows a letter that Ducey sent to the car-hailing company in which he stated that there had been an unquestionable failure to make safety the top priority.
    Read More

Highlighted Content