Atlanta’s First Bus Rapid Transit Route to Break Ground This Week

Officials in the city of Atlanta are planning a groundbreaking ceremony this week for the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority’s first bus rapid transit line.

2 minute read

June 12, 2023, 10:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Officials from Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) and the city of Atlanta will gather later this week for a ceremony to commemorate the groundbreaking on a new bus rapid transit (BRT) route—the first in the city.

“The five-mile BRT route—MARTA’s first new transit line since the Sandy Springs MARTA station opened in the year 2000—will link downtown to neighborhoods such as Summerhill and Peoplestown before ending near the BeltLine’s Southside Trail. Along the way will be connections to MARTA’s heavy rail system at Five Points, Georgia State, and Garnett Stations,” according to an article by Josh Green for Urbanize Atlanta.

“The region’s first BRT line, according to MARTA officials, will operate with new electric buses. About 85 percent of the corridor will have dedicated bus-only lanes with transit-signal priority, meaning buses shouldn’t be bogged down in traffic and that travel times should be quicker,” adds Green.

As noted in the article, the project has been delayed from an originally scheduled 2022 groundbreaking date. According to Green, “the project was dogged by skyrocketing building and labor costs, in addition to MARTA’s inexperience with creating new transit lines over the past two decades.”

Previous Planetizen coverage of Atlanta’s BRT plans:

More project details, including renderings of planned stations and a system map, can be found at the link below.

Friday, June 9, 2023 in Urbanize Atlanta

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