Metro Counties Propose Bailout for MARTA

By Odette Yousef

Atlanta, GA – It looks like MARTA may be on-track for a bailout of its own from metro Atlanta's 18-county core. Today, a committee of the Atlanta Regional Commission voted unanimously to recommend using $25 million of uncommitted federal stimulus funds to help the beleaguered transit system.

WABE's Odette Yousef reports.

MARTA is toying with the idea of cutting one weekday of service or the better part of weekends, to close a $24 million operating deficit for fiscal year 2010. The vote by ARC's transportation and air quality committee signals how catastrophic metro elected officials think that would be. Tad Leithead chairs the committee:

LEITHEAD: And that would certainly have gotten some people's attention, but it would have been on the expense of 500 thousand people per day who are dependent upon MARTA for their mobility and for their livelihood.

There's some concern that this might diminish the urgency behind state solutions to long-term transportation funding, and loosening a restriction that keeps MARTA from spending its money as it chooses. ARC officials say those issues will still need to be addressed in next year's legislative session.

The full board is expected to vote on the proposal in May.

Odette Yousef, WABE News.