Atlanta, GA, June 20 -- Citizens of Atlanta, Fulton, and DeKalb have invested 25 years in a one-cent sales tax in building the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority or MARTA, the eighth largest transit system in the nation. On Monday, the MARTA board approved a $307 million operating budget that raises its one-way cash fare from $1.50 to $1.75-a 17 percent increase. MARTA's existing $1.50 cash fare is the second highest of all major U.S. urban transit operators. Atlantans now pay more to ride public transit than such high cost cities as Los Angeles-where a civil rights lawsuit by the Bus Riders Union successfully beat back a fare hike. The one-way cash fare in Los Angeles is only $1.35. Moving to a $1.75 one way cash fare will make MARTA the most expensive transit ride in the nation. Considering cost of living, MARTA's cash fare was already the highest in the nation. Since the 15¢ fare ended in 1979, MARTA's adult cash fare has increased ten-fold. Factoring in cost of living changes, it has increased over 300%.

A similar budget proposal came before the MARTA board last month, but failed by one vote. Although split, the board adopted a FY01 budget that included the whopping fare hike. It an effort to soften the vote, the board passed a "rabbit-out-of-the-hat" amendment that instructed the staff to seek alternatives over the next 120 days to cut $2 million from the administration, take $2 million from its reserve fund, and request another $2 million from various city, county, state, and federal governments.

The Atlanta and Fulton County governments last month approved resolutions opposing the fare hike. The vote was unanimous. For the past four months, a host of community leaders, civil rights activists, academics, local elected officials, and transit riders have consistently called for MARTA to increase ridership, decrease fares, trim its bloated administrative staff, and seriously consider alternative revenue sources such as advertising, concession, and parking fees.

MARTA provides over 21,000 parking spaces at 23 of its 36 transit stations. Parking at MARTA lots is free except for the overnight lots that cost an economical $3 per day. MARTA provides 1,342 spaces in four overnight lots. All of the overnight lots are on MARTA's North line.

The fare increase is proposed to offset a $10 million shortfall associated with the opening of two new suburban train stations on the North line. The two new suburban stations, Sandy Springs and North Springs, add just two miles of track at the cost of $464 million in construction and $4 million to operate annually. The budget crunch is also caused partly because of the growing number of employees. The agency added 665 new employees from July 1996 through January 2000.

The $464 million North Springs and Sandy Springs are expected to increase MARTA's ridership by approximately 5%. The hike is projected to decrease ridership by 5%. Compared to the "new" riders, the "lost" riders are far more likely to be low-income, transit-dependent, people of color who reside in, and pay sales tax in, Fulton and DeKalb Counties. Currently, African Americans make up over 75 percent of MARTA's riders.

Over 16 percent of MARTA's customers live outside of the Fulton and DeKalb taxing district and park for free. MARTA officials are more concerned about not impacting its customers who have cars and park for free (who may or who may not live within the Fulton and DeKalb) than it does about its customers who are carless and transit dependent. Roughly 6.3 percent of whites compared to 26.5 percent of blacks who live in the MARTA service area are carless.

MARTA also has a major role in combating smog and gridlock. Cars are major contributors to Atlanta's nonattainment status. More than 2.8 million cars keep the region's air polluted and freeways gridlocked. A sizable share of low-income households who would be priced out of transit (with the fare increase) may be forced into older, pollution-generating cars-adding to an already bad situation.

Just this month, the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority or GRTA approved the Atlanta Regional Commission's $36 billion 25-year Regional Transportation Plan and three-year $1.9 billion Transportation Improvement Program. These plans are supposed to address the region's air pollution, traffic, and mobility problems. Both plans have provisions for public transportation. Although MARTA is barely mentioned in the ARC plans, no serious regional transit plan can work in the ten-county region without having MARTA at its core.

	Prior tot he MARTA Board meeting,Terry Allen (co-chair of the Metropolitan Atlanta Transportation Coalition or MATEC), Sherrill Marcus (MATEC), and Professor Robert Bullard (EJRC) held a press conference outside of MARTA headquarters to reiterate why a fare increase is not warranted.
	John Evans (president of the DeKalb County NAACP) remarked that his constituents in South DeKalb have been paying taxes for twenty-five years and have yet to receive a rail station or consistent bus service.
	Protesters outside of MARTA headquarters consisted of Latinos, disabled persons and African Americans who are over 75% of MARTA's current ridership.
	Angel Torres (EJRC) served as impromptu translator for spanish speaking attendees of the board meeting despite numerous requests for translators made to MARTA months prior to this board meeting.
	Angel Torres (EJRC) had to present his request for translation equipment again despite MARTA headquarters proximity to one of Atlanta's largest Latino communities.
	While the board was voting, citizens held up signs "Vote NO." Despite firm opposition and confusion regarding a last minute amendment, the MARTA board approved the fare increase.