Design Your Own MARTA Expansion (Atlanta, Alpharetta: dating, complaints, frequency)

[evannole]

Originally Posted by cqholt

Workers trying to get to low paying jobs, because most often they have no other option. Drunks have options, like staying at home and drinking.

Agree. And many of the shift jobs that start early in the morning are concentrated at the airport, which is the place where it probably makes the most sense to use MARTA as a commuter, between the convenience and the exorbitantly expensive onsite parking.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by bu2

MARTA should be focusing on workers, not drunks.

A lot of people work shift work on Saturdays and Sundays. You're proposing cutting them off from MARTA to serve a few drunk people who could call a cab.

Originally Posted by toll_booth

Heh, perhaps. It's just a numbers game, really--an issue of getting a few extra drunk partiers home, occasionally preventing a DUI, than getting a few shift workers to work. I can't say where I stand on that, because I don't have numbers either way.

I agree with you both.

A large major urban transit system like MARTA should be able to service BOTH workers whose shifts start and end during the 1am-5am overnight hours AND drunken partiers who should not drive while heading home after a night of drinking between the hours of 1am-5am.

In addition to being able to service both overnight (late-night/overnight/very early morning) shift workers and drunken partiers, a large major urban transit system like MARTA should also be able to service travelers who depart from the Atlanta Airport on the earliest flights of the day (between the hours of 5am-8am).....Which is why a large major urban transit system like MARTA should continue to operate its train service during the overnight hours of 1am-5am, 7 days-a-week.

The goal should not just be to operate trains overnight on weekends. The goal for a large major urban transit system like MARTA and a large major metro region like Atlanta should be to operate high-capacity passenger trains overnight on each and every day of the week.

[fourthwarden]

Originally Posted by philly76miami96

To fourthwarden:

How did you make this MARTA map? I'm just wondering, because I made my Atlanta map on Paint and it looks unprofessional.

I used GIMP. It's like piaint but with layers and more tools.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by evannole

Agree. And many of the shift jobs that start early in the morning are concentrated at the airport, which is the place where it probably makes the most sense to use MARTA as a commuter, between the convenience and the exorbitantly expensive onsite parking.

This is an excellent point.

Seeing as though it is the busiest airport on the entire planet, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is deserving of 24-hour HRT service.

Chicago (which some experts say will be surpassed by Atlanta in regional population within the next 2 decades or so) has had 24-hour HRT service to and from Chicago O'Hare International Airport for over 30 years on the CTA Blue Line which connects O'Hare directly with the Chicago Loop.

(...Chicago O'Hare International Airport is currently the busiest airport on the planet in terms of the number of aircraft movements while Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is currently the busiest airport on the planet in terms of passenger movements.)

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by Born 2 Roll

I agree with you both.

A large major urban transit system like MARTA should be able to service BOTH workers whose shifts start and end during the 1am-5am overnight hours AND drunken partiers who should not drive while heading home after a night of drinking between the hours of 1am-5am.

In addition to being able to service both overnight (late-night/overnight/very early morning) shift workers and drunken partiers, a large major urban transit system like MARTA should also be able to service travelers who depart from the Atlanta Airport on the earliest flights of the day (between the hours of 5am-8am).....Which is why a large major urban transit system like MARTA should continue to operate its train service during the overnight hours of 1am-5am, 7 days-a-week.

The goal should not just be to operate trains overnight on weekends. The goal for a large major urban transit system like MARTA and a large major metro region like Atlanta should be to operate high-capacity passenger trains overnight on each and every day of the week.

How do you propose track maintenance gets done? Not even BART, WMATA, or majority of CTA run 24/7.

[fourthwarden]

Originally Posted by cqholt

How do you propose track maintenance gets done? Not even BART, WMATA, or majority of CTA run 24/7.

Single track with speed restrictions when necessary?

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by fourthwarden

Single track with speed restrictions when necessary?

That would cause the track maintenance to drag on, since they workers wouldn't be able to work as efficiently as if there were no trains running.

[MattCW]

Originally Posted by cqholt

That would cause the track maintenance to drag on, since they workers wouldn't be able to work as efficiently as if there were no trains running.

It's not like they aren't dragging it out unnecessarily anyways.

[testa50]

Virtually 100% of partygoers in Atlanta take Uber anyways these days. No need to stay open past 1AM anymore imo.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by cqholt

How do you propose track maintenance gets done? Not even BART, WMATA, or majority of CTA run 24/7.

One suggestion to help get track maintenance done within a shorter period of time is to run "bus trains" (or shuttle buses in place of HRT service) during the periods (preferably overnight) along the portions of the HRT system where track maintenance is in progress.

The Chicago Transit Authority had to operate "bus trains" or extensive shuttle bus service in place of HRT service along the geographic footprint of the CTA Red Line for 5 months while the CTA Red Line was shutdown during a complete reconstruction of the entire south portion of the HRT line from May to October of 2013.
About the CTA Red Line South Reconstruction Project

CTA Red Line South Reconstruction: Service Alternatives (Shuttles, Rerouted Trains, etc.)