FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 9,
2022
MARTA ADOPTS BALANCED
BUDGET, ADVANCES CAPITAL PROJECTS, RESUMES PRE-COVID OPERATIONS
COVID Relief Money,
Return of Passenger Revenue Bolsters Bottom Line
ATLANTA – The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid
Transit Authority (MARTA) Board of Directors today adopted the Authority’s
Fiscal Year 2023 Operating and Capital Budgets. The $1.3 billion budget
includes $587.6 million in operating funds and $717 million for capital
programming.
MARTA continues to show fiscal
responsibility, balancing the budget for an eleventh straight year without a
fare increase and on the heels of unprecedented fare revenue losses due to the
pandemic. MARTA relies more heavily on sales tax
revenue than some peer transit agencies, and with those revenues experiencing
strong growth, combined with the last draw down from the federal COVID relief
money, the Authority is well-positioned to resume pre-COVID operation levels
and advance its capital improvement program.
“The biggest problem facing the transit
industry right now, and frankly, most industries, is a shortage of workers. We
are using every hiring platform and tool at our disposal to hire and train
operators as ridership recovers,” said MARTA Interim General Manager and CEO
Collie Greenwood. “We are aggressively recruiting employees, holding frequent
job fairs, and offering signing bonuses in order to stay competitive. As people
return to MARTA, we must be able to meet the service demand.”
Ridership demand has increased, with rail
slightly outperforming bus. Recently, climbing fuel prices have presented an
opportunity to gain customers without impacting MARTA’s bottom line. A bus uses
the same amount of fuel whether carrying two people or 20, and MARTA hedges a
portion of its fuel costs to protect against price spikes. Electricity-powered
trains and fully electric buses, the first of which were placed into service
this spring, are immune. MARTA is also exploring other ways to gain ridership
including a comprehensive redesign of its bus network to ensure service meets
the changing demographics and development of the service area, and by launching
an on-demand transit pilot program to connect those in areas underserved by
transit to the larger MARTA system.
MARTA’s Capital Improvement Program is
advancing rapidly and includes State of Good Repair (SOGR) projects focused on
improving the customer experience such as ongoing track replacement to enhance
the safety of the rail system and reduce delays caused by aging equipment. The
capital budget includes over $70 million for the multi-year Station
Rehabilitation Program with Five Points and Bankhead slated for train platform
renovation and extension respectively. Close to $40 million is budgeted for the
procurement of new railcars, the interior and exterior looks of which debuted
in January. The trains are the largest single capital investment ever made at
MARTA at over $600 million and the first railcar is set to arrive in metro
Atlanta in 2025.
The Clayton County Operations and
Maintenance Facility has been awarded an unprecedented $33 million in federal
grants and earmarks and Clayton Southlake bus rapid transit (BRT) has advanced
to the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Capital Investment Grant (CIG)
Program as a Small Starts Project. In Atlanta, Summerhill BRT is moving closer
to construction and decisions are being made about the mode and alignment of
high-capacity transit along the Campbellton Road Corridor.
“While this has been a difficult year for
the MARTA family, we remain focused on our customers and taking care of the
system we have today while developing an equitable, more connected transit
system of the future, thoughtfully and with fiscal responsibility,” said MARTA
Board Chair Rita Scott.
In a continued commitment to improving
customer service, MARTA is budgeting $9 million this fiscal year for the SMART
Restroom Program. And to save money in the long run, the Authority bought all
the parts and equipment for the program at current prices and will use them to
upgrade restrooms systemwide over the next few years, making them cleaner,
safer, and “smarter,” alerting station maintainers when supplies are low or the
space needs attention.
To view MARTA’s FY 2023 Operating and
Capital Budgets in detail visit MARTA
(itsmarta.com).
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