i’ll be the first to admit that for the whole time i have been in atlanta i have been about the biggest marta naysayer ever. in fact just last week i published a post called “it’s not smarta”.
i never even considered the idea of using marta as a means of daily commuting. now, i didn’t want to sound like a jerk, so i would often say, “if if didn’t have to ride a bus…..” but the reality is i have never had any plans to use marta for anything other than a trip to phillips arena and then only in duress.
and then last friday hit. my commute from my workplace off of old milton parkway in alpharetta back home to north ormewood took more than two hours to complete. i was frustrated, upset and stressed. i seriously could feel my blood pressure increasing with each time i tapped the breaks (you can read all about my frustration here written when it was fresh and raw).
as i watched each marta train cross over me on 400 zipping into town i asked myself, can it really be that bad?
after some quick research i discovered that i could make the trip in two train rides and one bus. east-west from inman park to five points, north-south to north springs and the 140 bus to my office. so i decided over the weekend to go for it.
monday morning i set out early and parked at the inman park marta station, getting onto the track just before the e-w train got there. i waited maybe 5 minutes at 5 points and then another 10 minutes after getting to north springs for the bus. the bus ride was definitely the longest part of the trip, but also the most relaxing as i settled in to read my book.
but coming home, ah, now that was the joy.
i picked up the bus right outside my office and rode back to north springs, where i caught the train immediately. and words cannot describe the feeling i felt zipping over 400 on the marta bridge and seeing all those cars STOPPED and realizing, for the first time that i wasn’t in it.
all told, the trip took about 30 more minutes in the morning and ended up being about even or a little less in the evening. and for the $$ i saved in gas and more importantly the stress that i never once felt on the commute i am sold.
this morning i loaded thirty days on my breeze card and i will be using marta as much as possible from now on.
so there ya go…one more car off the road….5-6 less gallons of fuel used a day.
oh and by the way, the state of georgia will even pay you to ride transit.