For Immediate Release
April
24, 2018
MARTA RECEIVES FEDERAL GRANT FOR NEW BUSES
$3.6 Million
Will Upgrade and Expand Service in DeKalb County
(Atlanta)
- The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) is receiving a $3.6
million grant from the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) Bus and Bus
Facilities Infrastructure Investment Program.
MARTA will use the funding to
upgrade and replace 40-foot diesel-fueled buses with 60-foot
Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses used on high capacity ridership bus routes
in central and south DeKalb County. The new, environmentally friendly
buses, will be stationed in central DeKalb County at the Laredo Bus Depot in
Scottdale. They will be used to improve and enhance service on MARTA Route 121,
which connects riders to the Avondale Station and the city of Stone
Mountain. The bus route travels the Ponce de Leon Avenue corridor and is
one of DeKalb's most heavily used east/west travel routes.
"This grant will allow MARTA to provide more service in
DeKalb County, along one of our busiest routes," said MARTA Board of
Directors DeKalb County representative Frederick L. Daniels.
The Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (GRTA) was similarly
awarded $3.6 million for upgrading its park-and-ride lots as well as support
construction of a new operations and maintenance facility along I-20.
"This $7.2 million in combined grants and investments in
DeKalb County transit infrastructure and rolling stock will begin to bring more
service into south DeKalb County, while also improving the emissions with
cleaner CNG fuel and improving our rider experience from the central into the
eastern and southern segments of our county," said DeKalb County CEO
Michael Thurmond.
The new buses are expected to be rolling on Route 121 soon. Additional
service expansions are being called for in the DeKalb County Master Transit
Plan under development by Thurmond's administration with significant public and
rider input.
"As we build out More MARTA across the
region, we will continue to partner and enhance existing service options with
the jurisdictions in our core service areas. Our goal is to simply become
and maintain the status of being one of the best transit and transportation
systems in the nation," said MARTA General Manager and CEO Jeffrey Parker.