Young group carries torch for transit... In Atlanta

From Maria Saporta's column in the Atlanta Journal Consitution (4/18/2005). Maybe we all should be going to the Sierra Club's door-knocking campaign tomorrow (Thursday blog entry)? (I lifted this article because the AJC's registration method is a pain, and a lot of people won't register. ) One interesting thing about the AJC, every Monday they run a special section called "Horizon" about development in the Atlanta region.

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SUNNY SUNG / Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Anna Swinson (from left), Joe Winter and Rebecca Serna take a recent ride on MARTA. The three are part of a movement to make public transit a better alternative for Atlantans.

They give me hope. In an era when MARTA-bashing has become a favorite pastime, when the transit agency is being squeezed financially from all sides and when misinformation and political pronouncements often overshadow the facts, there's one group that gives me hope.

Citizens for Progressive Transit is an all-volunteer organization of young, idealistic, informed and dedicated folks who want nothing more than to improve mass transit in the Atlanta area. The organization started nearly two years ago when a new Atlanta resident, Robert Bryant, tried to live here without a car. He became so frustrated with the limited transit service compared with his previous home in Portland, Ore., that he took out a classified ad in Creative Loafing asking whether there was anyone else interested in improving mass transit in Atlanta.

That led to a core group of four who formed Citizens for Progressive Transit, which has become a respected force in the peculiar world of transportation planning in the Atlanta region. The group now has student chapters at Georgia State University, Georgia Tech and Emory University, and there's interest in starting one on the Atlanta University Center campus. Its members attend MARTA meetings as well as those of the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority and the Atlanta Regional Commission.

Its Web site states: "As Atlanta's grass-roots transit advocacy organization, CfPT is committed to working with MARTA and regional leaders to help bring about comprehensive, long-term improvements to public transportation throughout the greater Atlanta region."

These days, that's a tall order. MARTA once again is facing the prospect of fare increases and service cuts — the worst moves that could happen in an area that is becoming more clogged with congestion every day.
MARTA may have to raise fares and reduce service because it's facing a possible $18 million shortfall in next year's budget. Those moves would not be necessary if the state Legislature had simply let the transit agency continue to spend 55 percent of its sales tax on operations and 45 percent on capital instead of reverting to a 50-50 split. And those moves would not be necessary if the state became a true supporter of MARTA, recognizing that increasing mass transit in metro Atlanta would do more to reduce congestion than any other investment.

"Our most pressing issue is shoring up MARTA," says Rebecca Serna, 27, who is president of CfPT. "MARTA should be adding service. And here we are undercutting it. We are raising fares and cutting back service. We could be at a pivotal moment for transportation in Atlanta." The group's tagline is "Putting the public back in public transportation."

At first, Serna thought the group would serve as a customer service feedback organization, letting MARTA know when escalators weren't working or when buses didn't show up on time. But she and her colleagues quickly found that the issues facing MARTA are far more dire. "I think we are moving in the wrong direction in our priorities," says David Emory, 26. "In the most recent plans, you are seeing less focus on transit than there was five years ago. We are doing the opposite of what we need to do."

Chris Wyczalkowski, 33, one of the original four, has given up his car, which he says hasn't been as hard as he thought it would be. "One thing we have tried to do is be very positive, pointing out things that work well," Wyczalkowski says. "There are enough detractors out there."

That attitude has resonated well with Nat Ford, MARTA's general manager. "We have all been impressed with them," Ford says. "They are very knowledgeable about the system. They use it, and they are very passionate. They have done their homework. And they know our budgets as well as anybody. They have become champions for us and seen some of the difficult choices we have had to make." Ford says that several older transit systems in other cities have similar grass-roots user groups, but this is a first for Atlanta. "They are another set of eyes," he says. "These are people who can make recommendations because they've done their homework, understand the nuances and can be very constructive in their comments."

CfPT held a fund-raiser last month, showing a frightening documentary, "Taken for a Ride,"[Dr. Transit notes that this film somewhat misrepresents the decline of transit, as has been discussed in other blog entries, and in a number of messages on the H-URBAN urban history email list] that shows how the automobile industry systematically dismantled public transit systems in the nation's major cities during the first half of the last century. At the time, the group still hoped the Legislature would agree to give MARTA flexibility with its sales tax revenues.

"We support financial accountability," Joe Winter, the GSU chapter representative, told the crowd of 120 who gathered to watch and discuss the film. "What we don't support is screwing over MARTA for political reasons." Winter, 28, who is working on a management degree and a second major in the urban policy program, says he's optimistic that in the long term, forces will favor mass transit. Congestion and rising gas prices, as well as personal choices to live close to jobs, will tip the balance toward transit. Those choices are already happening.

Anna Swinson, 24, moved to Atlanta in December. She purposefully chose to live next to a MARTA station, but she has since realized that it's almost impossible to get around Atlanta without a car, much to her dismay.
CfPT members would love to see the day when transit would be a viable alternative for Atlantans. And rather than raising fares and cutting service, they would love to see lower fares and more service.

Listening to this energetic group of transit believers, it's hard to get totally depressed about the sad state of affairs impacting transportation in metro Atlanta. As I said, they give me hope.