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MARTA is doing at least Something right. Recently, I had occasion to take the bus. It used to be that all the buses were with at least two sets of doors. Some of them were even articulated.

Now, however, MARTA has purchased smaller shorter buses. These buses have one door and are generally 7′ to 10′ shorter than their more traditional sized counterparts.

Why are shorter buses better? There are at least three reasons:

1. They run at higher capacity. Rarely are MARTA buses completely full. The higher the passenger capacity, the less energy is spent dragging around useless empty bus space. The engines can be smaller and hence fuel savings are realized.

2. They reduce traffic congestion. MARTA buses make frequent stops to handle passengers. Shorter buses use less space and hence can pull into smaller curb cutouts and let more traffic by.
3. They have smaller turning radiuses. MARTA often uses residential streets when a route serves a large apartment complex off a main rd. These streets are smaller and in the past MARTA has created a stir because they have driven across the edge of a person’s lawn. Smaller buses are more maneuverable. This lets the buses avoid property damage and let traffic going the other way on the street get through!

Buses are a vital part of MARTA’s service. Many can’t afford to live walking distance from a train station and buses are their lifeline to the world. The more effective they are, the better.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 4th, 2004 at 4:42 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.