MARTA to take charge of Atlanta Streetcar

September 19,2017

Source: Dave Williams, Atlanta Business Chronicle

MARTA will be taking over operation of the Atlanta Streetcar under an agreement between the transit agency, the city and the Downtown Atlanta Community Improvement District.

The Atlanta City Council overwhelmingly approved the agreement Monday, which will give the streetcar access to revenue from the half-penny sales tax referendum Atlanta voters ratified last November to pay for MARTA bus and rail service improvements.

The $100 million Atlanta Streetcar was launched in December 2014 with the assistance of a $47.7 million federal grant. It runs 2.7 miles in a loop from Centennial Olympic Park to the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site.

A report released last March showed the streetcar was moving only about 700 riders a day, far short of the 2,000 daily riders it was hoping to attract. However, plans call for linking the streetcar to the Atlanta Beltline, a move expected to increase ridership.