June 12, 2005

The Atlanta Transit Riders Union and Atlanta Jobs With Justice oppose proposals to regionalize public transit planning, funding and operations. Such suggestions, floated by the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority and the Atlanta Regional Commission, would cut MARTA and MARTA's Fulton and DeKalb constituents out of the loop. That can't be right.

When MARTA was set up, the city of Atlanta and Fulton and DeKalb counties approved a one-cent sales tax to fund it. Officials in outlying counties, holding the frankly racist view that public transit was "a black thing" and that accessible, affordable bus and rail transit throughout metro Atlanta was a threat, not a blessing, blocked the building of rail lines toward Cobb, Gwinnett or Clayton counties, and exempted their residents from MARTA's one-cent tax.

While nobody, least of all present public officials, would express such backward views nowadays, Atlanta's current transit mess is directly traceable to decisions made in those bad old days.

To this day, commuters from Cobb, Clayton and Gwinnett enjoy no-cost transfers to MARTA buses and trains, supporting the system with neither fares nor taxes. MARTA, whose employees are Georgia's only unionized public employees with a contract, is also the largest system in the country that receives no help from the state. That can't be right either.

MARTA's decision to avoid or delay fare increases and service cuts was the correct response of a public body to its constituents, who would fare far worse in the aftermath of any ARC/GRTA backroom annexation of MARTA's authority and assets.

Atlanta, Fulton and DeKalb riders and taxpayers have shouldered the burden of funding metro Atlanta's core transit operation for 30 years. Any just and equitable regional transit solution must have MARTA at its head and protect the investment and democratic input of Atlanta, Fulton and DeKalb riders and taxpayers. It would, therefore, bear no resemblance to the hostile takeover proposal by officials at GRTA and ARC.

•Terence Courtney is coordinator for Atlanta Jobs with Justice, a coalition of labor, community, faith and student organizations.
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