CBS46 Atlanta asks: How will MARTA ridership change with I-85 open? In spite of Keith Parker’s diabolical efforts to destroy roads, induce sinkholes, and cause agonizing gridlock throughout Atlanta roads to boost MARTA ridership, the answer to the question is about as obvious as finding out Cobb taxpayers will be on the hook for some Braves-related expenses despite countless promises that they wouldn’t.
Errbody ‘gon get their asses back in their cars and back on the streets and in no time, clog up I-85 and sit in traffic rather than ride MARTA.
I mean, the proof is already in the pudding, as it’s not even been one full day, and MARTA stations are reporting a wealth of available parking spaces, despite the fact that just weeks ago, ridership was up massively and warranted the need for additional parking. In that regard, I actually kind of feel bad for MARTA, because they seemed to go all-in with trying to improve service and become the commuting savior the city needed, even if they probably were the ones behind it in the first place.
But $3.1 million reasons existed why the I-85 repairs were going to get done ahead of schedule, and I have to imagine a guy like Keith Parker is incensed with the notion that such a generous bonus came into play to get people to actually do their jobs in an expedient manner. He did so much, destroying roads, causing gridlock as well as improving MARTA ridership, and now the whole plan kind of goes to pot now that I-85 was repaired as fast as it was. It wasn’t even adequate time for riders to reinforce and get used to MARTA being the norm, and their asses are already back in cars, preferring to slog through traffic and have the freedom that cars bring, rather than ride MARTA.
I mean it didn’t help MARTA that they couldn’t seem to stop tripping over themselves with shit like trains catching fire, multiple times during the time when operations needed to be at their very best in order to switch people to the dark side.
But they still gave their best college try, and despite Keith Parker’s guerilla methods, it kind of helped, but I think it’s safe to say that there’s a ticking clock before MARTA ridership trickles back down to the prior status quo before the destrucity of I-85, but the difference is that there’s going to be a lot more empty parking spaces at several MARTA stations that need to be maintained and monitored in the future, where the cost will probably be passed onto riders, creating the downward spiral where MARTA ends up in a worse position in which they started because of it all.
Ain’t gambling a bitch? Nice try, MARTA… but not enough power.
