FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 10, 2021
MARTA ADOPTS BALANCED
BUDGET FOR TENTH CONSECUTIVE YEAR
Authority
Well-Positioned for Post-Pandemic Recovery, Advancement of Capital Expansion
Program
ATLANTA – The
Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) Board of Directors today
adopted the Authority’s Fiscal Year 2022 Operating and Capital Budgets. The
nearly $1.3 billion budget includes $557.1 million in operating funds and
$749.2 million for capital programming.
Boasting a decade
of fiscal responsibility and with the help of federal relief, MARTA is
well-positioned to recover from a year of unprecedented revenue loss and poised
to advance its capital expansion program. FY 2022 fare revenue is projected to
be less than half of pre-pandemic levels, while sales tax revenue, which makes
up about $500 million of overall revenues, is projected to grow at 3 percent
from FY 2021 levels.
“I am extremely
proud of the entire MARTA team for their hard work during the pandemic. We
pivoted our service to keep people safe, froze vacancies and executed as many
projects as we could while people weren’t traveling,” said MARTA General
Manager and CEO Jeffrey Parker. “As customers come back, they will find we’ve
improved their ride.”
MARTA’s operating
budget does not include a fare increase; it has remained consistent since 2011.
Federal relief from the CARES Act and American Rescue Plan will be used for
operating expenses until fare revenue recovers, which isn’t anticipated until
FY 2025. The budget includes the return of cost of living wage increases for
non-represented employees and raises for represented workers consistent with
the current contract with Amalgamated Transit Union Local 732.
MARTA’s capital
budget has increased for FY 2022 as the Authority begins to accelerate the
delivery of several expansion projects, including Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in Clayton
County, along the Campbellton Corridor, and the Streetcar East extension. MARTA
will begin transformational projects at Five Points and Bankhead rail stations
and advance plans for a new Operations and Maintenance Facility in Clayton and
new bus transit hubs in DeKalb County.
“The State
Legislature for the first time included a line item in the state budget for a
MARTA capital project, while also creating a 10-year Transit Trust Fund. This
support from the state, combined with a new federal administration that
champions transit, puts us in a great position to fulfill our expansion
promises to our partner jurisdictions and potentially attract new jurisdictions
to join the MARTA system, said MARTA Board Chair Rita Scott.”
The state of good
repair capital budget allocates $120 million for rolling stock, including $68
million toward the purchase of new rail cars. Approximately $34 million will go
toward the ongoing Track Replacement Project and an upgrade of the Train
Control System. MARTA will continue prioritizing the customer experience by
soliciting input on many of these projects such as the interior and exterior
design of the new rail cars, and the preferred mode of transit along
Campbellton Road.
To view MARTA’s FY
2022 Operating and Capital Budgets in detail visit MARTA (itsmarta.com).
###