MARTA, WTF?
Why, for the love of all that is holy, does the North-South MARTA train stop running from Arts Center Station at 8:00 PM?? Please, somebody explain this to me so I can stop banging my head on the desk - I’m developing quite a lump, thanks very much.
You see… I want to ride the hell out of MARTA, I really do… if only it would work with me, not against me (and everything that makes any kind of sense).
July 27th, 2005 at 12:53 am
It’s the difference between me taking MARTA and CCT in the morning. That’s WTF it is.
July 27th, 2005 at 9:42 am
Point taken, but that really doesn’t answer my question. I want to know the rationale behind this. [Adam Sandler voice] “Who are the ad wizards who came up with this one??”
July 27th, 2005 at 10:10 am
The rationale is the MARTA board, Nathaniel Ford, and DeKalb and Fulton County governments got together and said, “You know, I don’t think our little mass transit system is inconvenient enough to use right now. There has to be a way for us to make people want to use our service less.”
July 27th, 2005 at 11:01 am
Huh? Do the trains just pass through the station without stopping after 8:00?
July 27th, 2005 at 11:09 am
Looks like I may have just answered my own question - sort of. Apparently the Northeast-South line runs until a little after midnight. But the North-South line, for whatever reason, goes no further south than Lindbergh. So I guess if you need to go to North Springs you have to transfer at Lindbergh.
Say it with me: “Confusing!”
I can only assume that their reasoning behind this is monetary.
As an aside, if MARTA needs somebody to redo their web site to make it actually usable (ie, finding a schedule should not involve going around one’s asshole to get to one’s elbow) and look like it is a product of the 21st century… well, my rates are competitive.
July 27th, 2005 at 11:25 am
I had no problem catching the train from Lindbergh (though I had to pay attention to catch the North Springs #2 train and not the Doraville #3 train), but I don’t have the slightest clue how one would get from the Arts Center to Lindbergh without a car. I’m guessing there must be a bus that runs that way. Regardless, it’s a lot more confusing than it should be.
July 27th, 2005 at 11:27 am
What I gleaned from the schedules upon further investigation this morning is, you would take the Northeast-South train from Arts Center to Lindbergh (like I said, it runs til after midnight) and then transfer to a N-S train at Lindbergh.
Love how they make that nice and clear for you.
God, I should really curb the sarcasm, shouldn’t I?
July 27th, 2005 at 11:43 am
I get it now, but Jesus, why should it be so difficult to come across that info?
July 27th, 2005 at 12:32 pm
That’s what I’m screamin’.
July 27th, 2005 at 1:12 pm
Well, to get to Lindbergh from Arts Center, you take any Northbound train. No matter whether it’s a Doraville or North Springs train, the next stop from Arts Center is Lindbergh, and it will stop there.
Before this recent change, MARTA had been running all northbound trains after 9:00 pm to Doraville, so if you wanted to get to North Springs, you had to transfer at Lindbergh. They’ve been doing that for quite some time, and it’s always been confusing to newcomers.
It would be nice if they color-coded the lines. E-W is the Blue line, Doraville-Airport is the Orange line, North Springs-Airport is the Pink line.
August 4th, 2005 at 9:25 am
Good idea with the color-coding, Joe. It’s not MARTA’s fault that “North Springs,” “North,” “Northeast,” and “Doraville” all start with the same “o” sound, but a workaround would be nice.
August 4th, 2005 at 9:30 am
See? Another similarity with the DC Metro, which I hold in such high regard!
August 5th, 2005 at 12:06 am
I hadn’t heard they moved the North line cutoff back from 9 to 8, so thanks for the update.
Maybe they missed the change to Daylight Savings Time?