I'm new to this whole yelp reviewing thing but I'm gonna make this as brief as I can. Marta is literal DOG WATER. You can't get on the train without your nose being assaulted by the smell of piss or being harassed by some homeless junkie or some scammer trying to sell you "free health insurance" (real examples by the way). Unfortunately I have no choice but to take Marta until I have enough saved up for a car but I can't even count on 2 hands how many times I've been stranded waiting on buses that are either late or won't show up at all. I've lost 2 jobs because of Marta's bullshit one of which was on my first day because they take ages to leave the station because they wanna stop and socialize. The employees constantly wear a sour face and always have an attitude like come on I understood they're not being paid enough but that's no reason to inconvenience people who pay to use the service. They always stop mid bus route to buy lunch or smoke a cigarette while there are people on board who literally have somewhere to be and if you're on a train be prepared to be randomly kicked off and the train to go out of service and don't expect to get answers as to why from the driver because they will give you nothing but attitude. I'm starting to believe they do this on purpose because they realize that it's a felony for me to smack them to another area code. I would rather walk across broken glass with no shoes than take one of those buses or trains. I pray for the day I have my car because once I do I'm gonna drop my breeze card in the blender and throw a party because I hate Marta with a burning passion. Also I know I put one star but for the sake of argument let's pretend it's -100. read more

The quote, "No man ever steps in the same river twice" pretty much sums up my experience riding MARTA over the past decade. It's never the same and that's what makes it interesting. You never know what you'll see on the way from A to B...people watching at its best. Entertainment value aside, your experience will vary depending on whether you're a tourist or a resident. FOR TOURISTS MARTA can be pretty useful. It's an inexpensive and convenient way to get from the airport to your hotel if you're staying in the downtown/ Midtown/ Buckhead/ Perimeter Mall areas. There are several tourist attractions near the train or within short walking distance from it: --Atlanta Beltline Tour (short bus ride (or walk) from the Inman Park Station) --CNN Center (at the Dome/GWCC/Phillips Arena/CNN Station) --College Football Hall of Fame (near the Dome/GWCC/Phillips Arena/CNN Station) --Federal Reserve Museum (at the Midtown Station) --Fox Theater (near the North Avenue Station) --Georgia Capitol (one block away from the Georgia State Station) --Margaret Mitchell House (at the Midtown Station) --Oakland Cemetery (at the King Memorial Station) --Underground Atlanta (at the Five Points Station) --Woodruff Arts Center (at the Arts Center Station) A list of 40+ attractions within a ten minute walk from various stations is here: http://martaguide.com/attractions FOR RESIDENTS MARTA isn't particularly useful for most of Atlanta's residents. It's been fifteen years since they've added any new stations to the system. Way back in the Y2K days!!! They have done a terrible job keeping up with Atlanta's urban sprawl. Most of us can't get to our favorite grocery or retail stores, restaurants/bars, banks, gyms or nightlife via MARTA. I'd definitely ride more than a few times a year if it took me places I wanted to go. The 30-day unlimited pass offers limitless rides for $95 per month...or under $1,150 per year. That's WAY less than the cost of car ownership when you factor in things like registration, gas, insurance, and maintenance costs. At that rate I'd have to consider exclusive ridership since that would easily save me thousands every year in transportation costs. Hopefully one day they will finally expand the existing rail lines in all directions and add more stations. Or increase economic incentives for many more businesses to relocate within walking distance of the train stations. Either improvement would make MARTA much more resident-friendly. Wishful thinking, I know. read more

MARTA - Cards up, keys down - Public Transportation Near Me - Atlanta, Georgia

In a nutshell, I like the MARTA. I think its convenient, well managed, and relatively clean compared to other subway / train stations I've seen in various cities. Metropolitan Atlanta is getting so large that the MARTA is a necessity and "greener" for our rapidly changing environment. I have friends that enjoy taking the MARTA instead of driving their car. It supposedly gives them an excuse to drink and go home sloshed without having to rely on a designated driver (kind of like NYC actually). Plus I hear its very convenient for going to the airport, which makes total sense. I hope they have converted most of the stations from that crazy token system to the more updated card system. When I last took the MARTA 2 years ago, I was already impressed with the clean cars and the CNN televisions in each one. I wish there were more routes to take around Atlanta and it's too bad the hours are limited to before midnight. Like most other cities, the MARTA was home to plenty of crazies and homeless with personalities as exuberant as those in NY. read more

marta don't care on the act of covid. marta is not taking safety pre cautions on 6 feet social distancing and keeping the buses and trains from being packed ya'll don't care about this covid act. ya'll don't respect the people who rides this everyday to work. please get it together ya'll want to pack buses but be late, not on time, want to be early stopping early. like this is getting out of hand to the point where it's ridiculous read more

Marta is convenient to use to get to certain areas of ATL. If you need to go to Gwinnett county, that's a whole other ball game. It will take you hours to get to certain parts of Gwinnett not the whole area. There is one particular lady that drives the 121 bus in Stone Mountain at 751am scheduled time. She is rude and has been rude since I started riding the bus. Her energy is off putting. She rides bus number 1605. She is selective with who she says good morning too. Her demeanor is mean like someone forgot to get their cup of coffee in the morning. Just her presence seeing her makes the energy in my body drained and feeled with frustration and slight angry. She seems bitter. I like who ever use to have her schedule before she came along. read more

Loved the Atlanta MARTA. Coming from the airport it was the least expensive way to travel and it was clean and easy to use. It reminded me of the DC Metro and the machines to purchase passes was about the same... easy day. Inexpensive, convenient, easy. Done! read more

Not gonna lie...This system is pretty good. First of all, it's real simple. North south, east west. Only 2 lines (4 if you wanna get technical). Second, the fare is only $1.75. I love the turnstiles too. The stations are clean (for the most part) and it runs directly into the airport which is something NY doesn't have. However, there's nothing like coming home to New York and seeing old gum stuck to the platforms and homeless people begging for money on the train. It feels good to be home. read more

A couple months ago, I went to the College Football game between Jackson State and North Carolina Central for a school trip. It was about 30 of us and the Marta was the best option for us(even carpooling was an uncomfortable decision because of gas prices as well as carbon emissions). The Marta ended up being cleaner than I thought, and easier to navigate. Our team might've lost, but overall, MARTA was definitely the best option, environmentally and financially!! Will definitely be coming back when traveling in bigger groups! read more

Worst service ever. Drivers have attitudes. They are the most unpleasant service workers in the industry I have ever encountered!

When gas goes above $4 / gallon, this will be my transportation around the city. Only thing is, the two rail lines go north to south, and east to west. The buses scare me (too complicated, although they do have tv's now with the news broadcasting all day/night long). So I guess I'll be walking lots this summer. read more

MARTA - Public Transportation Near Me - Atlanta, Georgia

Being from Atlanta I use to be an Avid Marta Transportation Rider but as of lately I havent , but when I did ride the services it was great . Nice Drivers cool rides , clean Trains just pay your fare and relaxed and enjoy the ride. I hope Marta can expand further North and further South heck even East and West it's enough land for everyone. Marta Headquarters is located in Buckhead on Piedmont Rd it's in a huge Brown building . read more

Atlanta is a car town, no question about it. I know people who have lived here for years and still have never used MARTA. MARTA's great if you live near a station and can avoid connecting on buses. If you need to catch a bus to get to a station or can't park near one...good luck to you. I'm all for public transit. I would love to be able to get rid of my car and exist without it. I hate the traffic in Atlanta and the air quality here suffers greatly because of it. When I visit places like New York or Boston, I'm thrilled to be able to get around with a car and amazed at how simple mass transit seems. Then I come back to Atlanta and see how ineffective MARTA is. The subway lines are very basic, and if you want to go anywhere else you have to use a bus that will take forever to get you where you're going. I used to use MARTA to get to the airport when I lived closer to a station. Now, it would take me about an hour and a half to get the bus to a station and ride in to the airport. Driving there, even in bad traffic takes 45 minutes tops. I've tried MARTA for commuting on several occasions, and it always ended up taking me two to three times longer to get to work than it would have taken me to drive. And in a city with traffic as bad as Atlanta's, that's saying something. read more

MARTA - Public Transportation Near Me - Atlanta, Georgia

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Fact #1: Atlanta traffic sucks. It is almost as bad as LA traffic. Fact #2: If you can ride MARTA (aka "the train") to work or the nightlife, you had better do it. Fact #3: Skip the MARTA buses. They are prone to the same traffic congestion on the roads and highways that everyone else must face. Fact #4: Get a BREEZE card. It makes entering and exiting MARTA train stations MUCH quicker. Fact #5: Do keep an eye out for panhandlers, bums, crazy people and the occasional self-styled gangsta'. It is never boring on MARTA! read more

Two different stations and neither one let us use a card to purchase a breeze card. The machines didn't even register we put a card into it. The first station a worker told us to use a different machine and didn't help us until we used 6 different machines. The second no one was there and we had to find an atm for cash. I'd rather pay and find parking at this rate. read more

for atlanta to be a major city thats constantly growing it has the absolute worst public transportation ive ever been on. the buses are consistently late, some drivers will drive pass someone at the bus stop, sometimes they dont even show up. the marta app is rarely accurate especially after 9pm but they demand ppl to pay? where is this money going to if simple thibgs aren't operating correctly. they claim to be hiring but when several ppl that i know personally applied received call and was promised to received another call back after the screening but they never got back to them, one friend signed up to gothe job fair and hours before recieve an email of required documents. with such late notice i can only imagine how unorganized and chaotic the company is from the inside which further explains why the service is so out of order. read more

You know MARTA works just fine to get you from point A to point B, particularly if you're a tourist or on a business trip and are staying/working somewhere along the line. When I'm in Buckhead I take MARTA from the airport because it's just easier than trying to drive in Atlanta. They do a good job of keeping it clean and you feel safe on it. What more can you ask? read more

I see Yelp MARTA reviews with 2 stars or, worse yet, with 1 star because MARTA disappointed them in some way - a ticket machine or electronic sign has been out of order, the trains got off schedule, or there are some loonies (American rendition and not the Canadian meaning) on board. To those people and those who trash talk MARTA, I'd like to ask them how well they'd like metro Atlanta without MARTA ... and how livable it would be. I'm still very fond of this rapid rail and bus system for this burgeoning metropolitan area. MARTA's biggest issue is that it has not kept pace with the area's rapid growth. The development of infrastructure is rarely a precursor to expansion. It tends to be a laggard. MARTA operates in two counties - Fulton, in which Atlanta is located, and Dekalb. Those counties voted for MARTA rail when it was put forth to them. However, metro Atlanta is a cat that is skinned in many ways - as a 10 county metro area, as a 20 county metro area, as a 28 county metro area, and in so many other permutations that no one can agree on. Realistically, the metro area's critical mass is in 5 counties: Fulton, Dekalb, Cobb, Gwinnett, and Clayton. By virtue of ATL airport being barely over into Clayton County, MARTA's tracks have already been laid down on Clayton County soil. However, northwesterly Cobb County and northeasterly Gwinnett County have habitually voted against it and the gridlock on the interstates leading from those areas into the city reflect that short sightedness. There was always a fear that MARTA rail would change their exurban equilibrium, not even considering that commuter rail runs through upscale urban and suburban communities in major U.S. cities and that those place were, are, and will probably always be in nosebleed territory. MARTA's rail system is simple and works well. Unlike Washington D.C.'s Metro, whose system map looks like a bowl of spaghetti that was haphazardly tossed onto a flat surface, MARTA was originally laid out as a cruciform - east-west and north-south, and intersecting downtown at Five Points. It initially remained inside the Perimeter. However, growth called for its expansion outside the Perimeter, east toward Stone Mountain and north, via a new spur, toward Dunwoody and North Springs. MARTA is a work in progress. The North Fulton County Corridor needs to be addressed and that extension needs to be built. Cobb and Gwinnett Counties are in a different situation. It is said that the changing demographics of those counties would now be more receptive to MARTA rail. The extension into Gwinnett seems more feasible, since the Gold line has already followed existing railroad tracks up to Chamblee and Doraville in Dekalb County. The alignment could continue from there into Norcross, Duluth, and other Gwinnett County communities. As for Cobb County, where to place that northwesterly trajectory would require investigation. However, stops at close-in Atlantic Station and up at Cumberland, next to I-285, should be part of such a plan. MARTA was once indeed a 5 star event, when it had the "new(er) car smell," when it was useful enough without going outside the Perimeter, and when the interstates were a little less congested, although still very busy. Because MARTA doesn't service two major metro area counties and because they are behind the 8 ball in getting up to North Fulton County, MARTA may not be the pinnacle of transit systems, but is definitely still an impressive system for a metro area of and with Atlanta's size and population. Love is still a 4 letter word and I'm still very much a big fan of MARTA ... commensurately to the tune of 4 stars. read more

Was visiting Atlanta recently. Decided to try out the MARTA subway on a Sunday afternoon to get back to my hotel. The stations and trains felt pretty rundown. Did not feel safe, a lot of really sketchy people (homeless and/or talking to themselves) all over the place. I've felt safer on a NYC subway at 4am than an Atlanta subway at 4pm, that's crazy. read more

Worst transportation service ever! I wish I could give zero stars. Currently waiting for a bus that should have arrived at 4:18pm. It is now 4:48 and I have missed my. Xpress bus. Next bus is due at 5:03, It's 98 degrees and about to rain. Who even knows what time the next bus will come. YOU DON'T HAVE ENOUGH DRIVERS BECAUSE THE PAY IS CRAP! read more

I ride Marta to and from the airport when I'm in town on the Northsprings train. Never again as the safety has continued to get worse and there is no security riding the trains. This is terrible. The driver sees the activity and she announces "stay away from the customers" but that's all they can do. Marta needs firm security walking the trains at all times. There is no excuse for such poor safety. This is why Atlanta traffic is so bad. No one wants to put their safety at risk riding Marta. read more

Please do something about the homeless sleeping on the train. I have changed carts twice because of the smell. I can count at least ten homeless between within those carts. Unfortunately the attach photo opinion it's not allowing me to upload a picture of them. read more

Marta is the WORST transit system on the planet. I'm standing at the bus stop waiting for the 75, the bus driver LITERALLY looked at me and rode pass me as he was looking directly at me. Last night my boyfriend and I waited 2 hrs for the 125. Most of the Marta employees are straight up rude, nasty attitudes and DOES NOT CARE ABOUT THEIR PASSENGERS. If I could give this review a negative 10, I'd give them a negative 20. THE WORST SYSTEM IN THE UNIVERSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! read more

The worst city transportation system I've ever seen. Atlanta metro has 5 million people and the buses run every 30min to an hour. The train station is just as bad. The gates always always messing up . If the machine takes your money by "mistake" it takes them 5-7 business to call you about the situation. This has happened to me twice and they've never called back. If you're from any other major city you appreciate their public transportation more. The transportation system her is atrocious. Take an Uber or a Lyft; It's not worth it. read more

Officer Hutt spent more than 20 minutes providing me helpful and informative information. As a parent with a daughter relocating there she eased a number of my anxieties and provided detail information about the Lindbergh Station and Marta overall. It was so refreshing and indeed most appreciated. read more

Awful service. Website is if no use, rude bus drivers, always late, and the list goes on..

We're no strangers to urban mass transit rail lines, and know that occasional break-downs, delays, more-than-occasional surly and uncooperative personnel, endless staircases and unintelligible audio announcements are each a part of the package. In that context, MARTA may not be as speedy as some, but the trains are frequent, inexpensive, clean and well air conditioned. I've spent entire weeks of business travel relying only on the MARTA for transportation, but on this year's vacation, the seven-day pass really paid for itself in cost and convenience. We spent at least some time near every north-south stop between Five Points and Sandy Spring, and at several of the east-west destinations. From the MARTA Stations we had enjoyable walks to the surrounding areas, and really saw much more of the city than 24+ prior business trips had provided. No mass transit system is without its faults, but MARTA served us well during our vacation. read more

MARTA. Dear dear MARTA. Thank you for all you do. Ladies and Gents, it is possible to live in Atlanta without a car. Thanks to the Metro Area Rapid Transit Authority (and my wonderful friends who drive me places), I have survived for a year and a half sans motor vehicle. I'm in a unique situation though because MARTA is extremely convenient to where I live and where I work (not a common phenomenon). My commute that could take nearly an hour in a car now takes less than 20 minutes. MARTA is really easy because there are so few options. On your first ever MARTA ride you will pay $1 extra to have a breeze card. Other than that all trips are $2.50 regardless of how far you go or if you change trains. North and South are Red and Gold lines. East and West are Green and Blue lines. You can watch the front of the train to see which line you are about to get on or there are scrolling screens in the windows by the doors. For non-frequent Marta travelors, Marta is good for three things. 1. The airport. Get on at the outer stations like Doraville or North Springs if you live far away and ride that little dude right to the airport. You have lots of options on getting to the stations if you live inside the city. Take a cab (cheaper than airport parking). Long term Marta parking (cheaper than airport parking). Have a friend drop you off (cheaper than airport parking). Walk (hey there's a crazy idea & cheaper than airport parking). Both the Red and Gold line end up at the airport. It is about a 45-50 minute ride from Doraville or North Springs and about a 20-25 ride to 5 points (the transfer station). 2. Braves games. Parking and traffic at Braves games is THE WORST. If you want to get to the game early to tailgate the Braves shuttle probably won't be running yet but the walk from 5 points or the Georgia State Station is only about 10 minutes. Once it gets closer to the game you can follow the massive crowd through (or above) underground Atlanta to the shuttles that take you directly to the gate. The shuttles start running after the 6th and go for about an hour after the games. Very worth it and there are always fun characters on these buses. 3. Special events at the GA Dome, CNN center, Phipps, Centennial Olympic Park, Piedmont Park, or Georgia Tech. Parking is never fun and puts everyone in the worst mood for big events. Marta goes almost directly to all of these places and same day parking in MARTA decks is free with validation ( the machines are yellow, inside the stations, and always have lines). Tons of people ride MARTA during special events so do not be afraid. In addition to giving me street cred and significantly more time to listen to pod casts, read my weekly TIME magazine, and listen to music without the stress of ATL rush hour traffic, I have indeed made some MARTA friends. People are generally really nice and not sketchy. Of course you have your occasional crazy person but crazy people are everywhere and I have honestly never felt afraid on MARTA even when riding after dark (keep in mind I only ride north and east of five points). Love ya Marta! read more

MARTA is Smarta! Sometimes! People love to bash MARTA, I don't get it! True, Atlanta's public transit system isn't as sophisticated as New York's, but it is useful. One problem with Atlantans is: We don't like to walk! MARTA can't drop you off curbside to all your destinations. You have to be willing to walk off some of that fried chicken and biscuits we eat in the south I have never fully had to rely on MARTA to get around as my only means of transportation, however I have used it many-a-times! Good reasons to use MARTA: 1. Friends don't let friends drink and drive! -Instead, they watch you fall over and make a spectacle of yourself on the MARTA post- New Years Eve Peach Drop! 2. Parking can be outrageously expensive! Especially when there is an event downtown such a concert or sporting event. MARTA drops you right off at the Phillips arena and Georgia dome so there is no excuse to have to pay $20 to park. 3. Car problems I don't have the best of luck with cars [reference my reviews of P&D Tire, Georgia Department of Transportation and A-Tow] however, a girls got to get around! Conveniently, MARTA's website has a commute planner on it's homepage. You just put in your starting point and your destination, and you get instructions on how to get to work when your car's window is smashed out due to a highway accident! 4. Airport- The only way to get to the airport! Seriously,don't bother your Friends by asking them the dreaded favor of taking you to the airport- MARTA is Smarta! (That is unless, you don't know how to pack light!) All in all- MARTA has always been there when I needed it! Maybe one day it will be as sophisticated as the METRO in NY but until then.... MARTA is Smarta! read more

Moving African-Americans Rapidly Throughout Atlanta is what someone told me MARTA stood for! DISCLAIMER: If someone is trying to sell you some type of special water that was filtered in Japan...don't sip, taste, or buy. The city of Atlanta does not fund the public transportation so it isn't maintained as well as let's say D.C.'s or NYC's transportation system in terms of being kept clean. I will say though that I rarely had an issue with delayed or broken down trains in Atlanta and I had SO many problems with the D.C. system. Airport: MARTA is conveniently located inside the airport and you have to purchase a Breeze Card in order to load trips/days on your card. Do not lose your Breeze Card because you will always have to purchase another one for $2.50 I believe it is. It is a pretty simple system. North, South, East, & West. Marta consists of buses and trains that get people through Atlanta. Most people would take it to get to summer festivals, sporting events, etc and also anyone that lives near a Marta stop and works in downtown/midtown. DISCLAIMER: On the south side of MARTA is very different than the North side. On the south side, most people who drive in Atlanta would never take MARTA because of the trash and sketchy people that ride it. There are a lot of homeless people, drug addicts, people trying to sell you things on the MARTA daily. I have always felt safe and my job also pays for it. The north side where Buckhead, North Springs, Medical Center is a completely different ride. I feel that the city just like any city has it's good and bad parts. Bottom line: Take MARTA from the airport if you are having a short trip or going to a sports/concert event, other than that I would highly suggest driving. read more

MARTA is Atlanta's subway and bus service for mostly inside the perimeter beltway. If you live in one of the surrounding neighborhoods you are out of luck. See my review on Atlanta traffic since this may be a reason why there are so many cars on the road. The MARTA uses a "Breeze" card which is reloadable. Instead of sliding it through a machine to open the gates you just tap the blue Breeze button with your card and you are in. Base fare is $2.50 per trip. The MARTA card is also good on the streetcar I rode. The subway is basically in a plus formation which means you can ride from the airport straight up to Buckhead and beyond a bit. It also goes east-west from the center stop they call 5 points. It is a great way of getting in and out of the city but like all subways you must be careful where you go and hold on to your belongings. There is a tendency on weekends for them to be doing repair work so they will enforce single track during that time. Also some stations are closed on weekends which means you must transfer. It is best to check online on their site for complete route and up to the minute information on both riding and construction. I normally use it during the day. Again some trains will have a recorded announcement not only telling you the name of your stop but also what's in that neighborhood if you are looking for a place to visit. read more

I agree that Marta is great for when you are going to and from the airport; however, it is supposed to be a transportation for the metro atlanta area and not just an express ride to the airport (though it is useful in this regard). It is when you look at Marta's functionality as a whole that it falls short. Here are some of the things I have noticed. 1). Buses are consistently late. It is like some of the bus drivers do not realize that people have places to go. The amount of times I have seen a bus driver linger outside of his/her late bus while talking on the phone or to another Marta employee is annoyingly high. 2). Lack of attendants at the station. This can be especially annoying if you are new to Marta (or public transportation in general). Or if you have to use one of the few public restrooms that Marta has (you need to have a Marta worker scan his/her card to get in. 3) Lack of courtesy. I remember one driver asking me to borrow my umbrella. As I was struggling with my armful of stuff to get it he loudly goes "FINE, I'll walk in the rain.". Another time, a man was wearing headphones and standing to close to the grey safety line that separated passengers from the track. Instead of the attendant tapping him on his shoulder or something, he stands behind the man and yells at full volume (people were staring) to stand behind the line. I like MARTA and appreciate that it is one of the better transit systems outside of NYC and LA (well...at least the train part is). But, for all of the above reasons, I cannot say I am a fan of MARTA. read more

I used to live in the Chicago loop, right above the El, and I quickly became accustomed to getting around a major city on the rail system, because I gave up my car then. Haven't bought one since, and I've been back in the ATL for over a year now. That said, no you can't go everywhere you want to go on MARTA. I blame the people in the outlying counties that are afraid OMG scary brown people are going to come to their neighborhood, rather than blaming the people running and planning MARTA. That and a certain population density is required for a train system to be used enough to vaguely justify its existence. Some places just don't have it. I definitely like that I can take MARTA right to the airport. Just about every station has working elevators and escalators, and not just escalators going the opposite way that I'm going. Once you've had to drag a couple pieces of luggage up some stairs against the crowd, this becomes important. The trains are pretty damn clean compared to other cities, and the trains don't screech on the tracks or throw off sparks when they're taking corners. Plusses for that. read more

Marta is a efficient way to waste your money. Never on time, never convenient. Simply put, your better off walking.

MARTA has saved my husband and I over $300 a month. In this economy: that's as good as it gets! My husband works up 400, and despite having a 20-minute drive in the morning, he would often times get stuck in stand still traffic for up to 2 and a half hours in the evening. We love where we live. He has a great job. There had to be some way we could keep both in tact without him loosing his sanity... MARTA was our savior. Now - on top of all the money we save, he averages one book a week, comes home happy (and in less than an hour), and we're both more enthusiastic than ever about public transportation as an effort to be green. MARTA really is Smarta and if you can swing it - it will save you money and your mind... read more

I like to avoid Marta like I avoid the plague. Seriously... I had to ride MARTA for 3 years while going to school at Georgia State University and there were many interesting encounters. Five Points (the HEART of MARTA) is probably one of the worst areas in all of Atlanta and it usually smells like urine. It seems to take AGES to get anywhere with MARTA even with how bad traffic in Atlanta is. The only place I recommend taking MARTA to is Phillips Arena or the Georgia Dome... forget the Braves game because you end up wasting a lot of time with the shuttles. This rail system is a joke and can get you somewhere that is usually 3-5 miles away from where you need to be. Take a cab, drive your own car or carpool. read more

Since pandemic started Marta trains have become trashy. There is half eaten food packages lying on the seats. Chicken bones lying on floor. Homeless people sleeping every where. Almost every compartment smell so bad. Nobody to clean. I travel everyday to go to my job. Weekly 7 days fare $23.75 is not worth at all. If you are not careful you sure will get coronavirus/delta traveling in these kind of conditions. read more

The MARTA trains are quick, and seem to run with some relative frequency. We went to see the Hawks v. Warriors game last Friday (which I don't want to talk about BY THE WAY), and we were practically dropped off right in front of the door to the arena. Nice. However, where one can actually go via train is severely limited. And NO ONE rides the buses, apparently. We took a bus from our house to the train station and LITERALLY could have walked faster. And I mean literally in the literal sense, not in the figurative sense. LITERALLY. Plus, what's up with this whole you have to pay $5 JUST to HAVE a Breeze card? Before you even get any trips out of the damn thing? It's no wonder everyone drives here and doesn't use public transportation - you're limited in where you can travel, and it's almost like the city actually incentivises driving by making you pay MORE for public transportation. When we got out of the game and got back to the Inman Park station at 10:40PM we saw that it was a HALF HOUR wait for the bus. We ended up walking home and arrived home at about the time the bus would have been arriving to pick us up from the station. If you've got a bike, or don't mind walking (which I do have and don't mind), then the trains are actually quite fast. But this whole paying for a breeze card thing is NONSENSE. Because, yeah, you only have to buy it once IF you don't lose it or get your wallet stolen. Then guess what? ANOTHER $5 for another Marta card! There is one thing that Marta is good for, and that's to get to the airport. If you can get someone to drop you off somewhere on the red line. Oh yeah. I forgot to mention the BEST part of Marta - there are only four lines, TWO of which go - ready for this? - North-South, and the other TWO go - take a guess! - East-West. That's it. The vast wastelands in between these two X Y axes - places like the Virginia Highlands and Emory's campus and the Westside - are all completely inaccessible via Marta trains. Here's the thing, MARTA - It shouldn't cost MORE and take WAY LONGER to take you. That's why no one does! And I come from the SF Bay Area, and the BART system is one of the most expensive systems in the country. No one gives a crap about buses. I'm not saying you shouldn't have them - plenty of people poor and impoverished people rely on the buses to get around. But that's because there aren't any trains. But you know what would happen if there were more rail lines in Atlanta? Then Atlanta would have what other cities know as a VIABLE and VIBRANT transportation system! On the other hand, I am bumping what would be a 2-star review up to 3-stars because I think it's a bit of a catch-22 situation; maybe if more people took MARTA, its whole system would improve? I dunno, maybe it's just my bleeding heart hippie liberal California-self feeling too guilty to rate any kind of public transportation below 3-stars. But, seriously MARTA. Get your sh*t together. Don't make me regret this. read more

Can I rate them lower? I wish I could. After an infuriating experience, I will never use MARTA again. I used MARTA almost two months ago. I have a Breeze card. I attempted to load a trip onto my card when the machine completely froze up on me. I stood there for 5 minutes hitting a bunch of buttons hoping the machine would come back to life. No dice. The machine got an error message. Then I got a message saying that the transaction would time out in 30 seconds. I waited until it timed out to ensure I didn't get charged and then I made my transaction on another machine. Imagine my surprise when my credit card bill showed up and I had two charges on it. I called MARTA and nicely explained the situation. They promised that the charge would be refunded in 7 to 10 days. I waited 14 days and called again. They said that my claim was sitting on the claim manager's desk, that it was approved and they would credit my credit card that day. One week later and I still had no credit from MARTA. I call back again. The rep apologizes, promises that he'd walk my case to his supervior right away and that I would receive a call back within 5 minutes. Four hours later and no call. So I disputed the charge with my credit card and got my money back right away. Amazing how much more efficient my credit card company is than MARTA. You'd think with all the bad PR as of late that they'd maybe attempt to be better to their customers. Unfortunately, that's not the case. read more

Having lived in Chicago for just over 2 years, pros and cons to MARTA. PROs- Still very affordable Many cars on each train, resulting in not very cramped cars Frequent Service to where I need to go (Dunwoody or ATL airport) Air Conditoned Quick moving service Delivers me right to the airport terminal Takes Credit Card to recharge (great for my expense report) Employees enforce that luggage needs to go in the luggage areas Luggage areas Beats Traffic during rush hour Signage indicating when next train will be arriving Cons Same homeless people begging on the train, pretty uncomfortable if at the wrong time Having to tap your card to exit the station. If someone hopped the gate to get in, they will do it on the way out. Trumps Metrolink in LA/Orange County where I grew up. Really bits Big Island of Hawaii where no mass transit like MARTA exists. Good for the environment and good for my pocketbook (well, the companies). read more

- You took me to Tech for the first few months of my life in Atlanta. - You took me to the Airport, Braves games, to the Malls (Perimeter and Lenox), and safely home on nights when I had wayyy too much to drink. - You also offered awesome discounts on my unlimited student pass and I saved tons of money when gas was scarce and expensive in fall 2008. You may ask why I gave you three stars in stead of five, especially given all the positives above? -You have people that free roam freely through the trains panhandling and hustling, and dude that's not cool (snake oil and socks anyone?). - You smell like bodily fluids at times and there was this time on the train that I nearly sat in piss (I refuse to sit on the train nowadays). - Your bus drivers like to take breaks whenever they fucking feel like it and I can recall a time that the 24 bus driver stopped at Popeyes to get a drink and put us 25 minutes behind schedule. So Marta where do we go from here? I wish you all the best in future endeavors so the city can prosper but you are a part of the reason I'm leaving Georgia. The future can't bode well unless people realize they need you. #Yelp365 - 60/365 read more