MARTA bucks national trend: Ridership keeps falling

from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:



Eduardo Schoen rode MARTA until last month when he joined a trend that has plagued the transit agency for years. He jumped back in his SUV, making him one of thousands of former MARTA riders to give up on public transportation in recent years.

Until last month the 40-year-old Milton resident rode the bus to the North Springs station to catch a train to his job at AT&T in Midtown. He found it an economical, stressless commute. That was until late buses and trains too often caused him to miss connections and often added nearly 30 minutes to his trip.

“I would rather use that time for family than sitting in a bus stop in the cold,” he said. “I enjoyed riding MARTA. It is too bad I had to give it up.”

Unlike most public transit systems in the United States, last year, MARTA continued a downward spiral in declining ridership at a time when that trend should be turning around: the economy is improving; the younger Millennials favor transit more than older Baby Boomers or Gen Xers; gas prices remain high. ....................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.myajc.com/news/news/marta-bucks-national-trend-ridership-keeps-falling/nW73W/