Transit Receives Support at Ballot, MARTA to Expand in to Clayton County

Despite some tough losses at the polls yesterday, 63 percent of transit measures were successful, finishing up the year with a 72 percent approval rating for transit on the ballot. While new rail measures failed to sway voters in both Pinellas and Austin, Clayton County, Georgia, voted overwhelmingly to join MARTA.

In 2000, voters in Clayton County adopted a proposal to create a bus service which began operation in October, 2001. C-TRAN grew to providing 2.1 million trips in 2009 when the county commission voted 4-1 to terminate C-TRAN due to budget shortfalls.  

Transit advocates and the community rallied in 2010 in an attempt prevent the service from being terminated and the Atlanta Regional Commission offered revenues from Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, which is located in Clayton County, to maintain service. However, the County Commissioners held fast in their decision and C-TRAN service stopped March 31, 2010.

For the following four years, advocates worked tirelessly to restore transit service to Clayton County. The MARTA Act requires a vote to join the system be held during a general election, making the only opportunities for a MARTA initiative to be held in 2012 and 2014. The Atlanta region held a vote for the Transportation Investment Act, or TSPLOST, in July 2012, overshadowing discussions for Clayton to vote on MARTA. The TSPLOST included $100 million for bus service in Clayton, but was ultimately unsuccessful in the ten-county metro region.

The 2014 legislative session in Georgia brought enabling legislation to allow Clayton County the option to join MARTA and in July, County Commissioners approved for the one cent sales tax be put on the ballot. The MARTA measure was approved by 74 percent in yesterday’s election, generating an estimated $50 million annually. The money will go to a robust fixed route and paratransit services, slated to begin in March, 2015, and an eventual commuter rail linking the county to the MARTA heavy rail system.

The Clayton County vote is the first time that one of the five counties authorized by the MARTA Act has voted to join the mass transit system since its initial approval by Fulton and Dekalb in 1971. Transit advocates in the region are hopeful that Gwinnett and Cobb counties, which both currently operate separate transit services, will now begin considering similar votes to join MARTA.

The 2014 elections continue to show support for transit across the country, with the emphasis on maintaining and restoring service. Check back tomorrow for an indepth analysis on what yesterday’s elections and losses mean for transit, and join me next week when CFTE hosts discuss the elections trends and what the key lessons learned were.

Ashley Robbins is the transportation policy manager at Advocacy Associates and manages the Center for Transportation Excellence. A psychologist by training who fell in love with transit advocacy, she moved to Washington, D.C., from Atlanta, Georgia, in 2014 to become a policy wonk.