Friday March 29th, 2024 4:45AM

Proposed mass transit cutbacks trigger response

By The Associated Press
ATLANTA - Transit workers put giant red X's on Atlanta-area buses and trains and a few hundred riders and workers rallied at a downtown transit station Tuesday as part of a multi-city protest against funding cuts to mass transportation.

Organizers of the Atlanta rally urged participants to call their state legislators to tell them to approve both short- and long-term funding measures to avoid cutbacks at the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, or MARTA. The public transit system is staggering under a $120 million operating deficit.

"This is the beginning of a number of similar actions around the nation because, while MARTA is in worse shape than most transit systems, the recession is having a terrible effect on public transportation," said Jamie Horwitz, a spokesman for the Amalgamated Transit Union, which helped organize and fund efforts in Atlanta.

MARTA is the ninth-largest public transit system in the country, but doesn't receive any state money for its operating budget, unlike other systems its size. Without additional funding, MARTA would cut between 25 and 30 percent of its service by eliminating some bus routes and increasing wait times for trains, said spokeswoman Cara Hodgson.

A spirited rally and news conference Tuesday at the most-used public transit station in downtown Atlanta complete with posters, balloons and a DJ drew a crowd of between 200 and 300 people, MARTA riders and workers alike.

"I came out today because I depend on MARTA to get to both of my part-time jobs," said Kimberly Thrush. "I can't afford a car, and even if I could, look at all the cars on the road already."

The 39-year-old, who lives in southwest Atlanta, said she was out of work for nearly six months and is trying to get back on her feet with two hospitality industry jobs.

"I can't imagine what will happen to me if the MARTA cuts happen," she said.

The fate of a measure before lawmakers that would remove restrictions on the transit authority's use of sales tax proceeds and interest earned on reserve funds, currently earmarked for capital improvements, is unclear as this year's legislative session nears its close next week.
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