FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 12, 2025
MARTA ADOPTS BALANCED BUDGET, PRIORITIZES
PROJECTS THAT SUPPORT SYSTEM SAFETY, CLEANLINESS, AND RELIABILITY
ATLANTA – The
Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) Board of Directors today
adopted the Authority’s Fiscal Year 2026 Operating and Capital Budgets. The
$1.55 billion budget includes $652 million in net operating funds and $901.8
million for capital programming.
MARTA continues to
show fiscal responsibility, balancing the budget for a fourteenth straight year
without a fare increase, and reconfirming AAA and AA+ bond ratings. The budget
reduces costs while prioritizing projects that enhance safety, improve cleanliness,
and increase service reliability, including new trains, a redesigned bus
network, station rehabilitation, and a new fare collection system.
“The next fiscal
year will be one of incredible improvement, with systemwide
once-in-a-generation investments that ensure a safer, cleaner, more reliable
MARTA,” said General Manager and CEO Collie Greenwood. “Customers will see new
state-of-the-art railcars, a better, more flexible Breeze system, and an
entirely redesigned bus network that increases service frequency.”
MARTA derives a
significant part of its operating budget from sales tax revenue which is
forecasted to be over $400 million in FY 26, with passenger revenue and federal
assistance being the next largest sources of operating revenue at a combined
$155 million. The operating budget assumes a three percent salary increase for
non-represented employees, and fully funds the collective bargaining agreement
obligations. Additionally, it accounts for an increase in healthcare and
pension costs and includes a net reduction of 191 positions, many of which are
vacant.
MARTA’s Capital
Improvement Program continues to advance, with projects in the More MARTA
Atlanta Program under construction such as the Rapid A-Line in
Summerhill and the Five Points Station Transformation, and those in various
stages of planning and development such as the Bankhead Station platform
extension and Cleveland/Metropolitan Avenue Arterial Rapid Transit (ART). The
More MARTA Clayton budget prioritizes Rapid lines in Southlake and along
SR54, and advancement of the Clayton County Operations and Multipurpose
Facility and Justice Center transit hub projects.
The Capital budget
includes $115 million for the new trains, the first of which will enter service
in FY 26, $104 million for the implementation of the new fare system, and close
to $50 million for the ongoing Station Rehabilitation Program, a multi-year
project that will enhance safety, cleanliness, and reliability, and the overall
customer experience at all 38 rail stations.
“We had to tighten
our belt this year, but we remain committed to growing ridership and making
good on commitments to our jurisdictional partners,” said MARTA Board Chair
Jennifer Ide. “By keeping safe, clean, and reliable as our north star, we were
able to focus on necessary system improvements while remaining good stewards of
public money.”
To view MARTA’s FY
2026 Operating and Capital Budgets in detail visit MARTA.
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