The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority will officially launch its NextGen Bus Network on Saturday, April 18.
Officials trumpeted that the initiative represents the first time since MARTA began bus operations in the early 1970s that the entire system has been redrawn from scratch.
The new bus network is designed to meet the needs of modern transit customers in an ever-evolving Atlanta region. Moving away from the incremental changes of the past, MARTA is launching a new bus network designed for how people live and work today.
Officials said the cornerstone of the NextGen Network is a dramatic increase in high-frequency service. The new network triples the number of corridors with bus arrivals every 15 minutes or better, increasing from 5 to 17.
This 15-minute means more riders will no longer need to consult a schedule and can simply arrive at a stop and know a bus is coming shortly. Additionally, 11 routes will feature service every 20 minutes or better, ensuring that one-third of the entire network provides high-frequency reliability.
In a major shift from previous operations, the NextGen Network introduces greater service consistency, both during off-peak hours and during the weekends. Whether a rider is commuting on a Monday morning, heading to the grocery store on Saturday afternoon, or traveling to a place of worship on Sunday, the service levels will remain nearly the same for most routes. The 81 fixed routes will operate at the same frequency for most of the day, seven days a week, making the system more useful for all our customers, not just traditional workweek commuters.
The redesigned network consists of 81 fixed bus routes optimized for speed and frequency, as well as 12 MARTA Reach on-demand zones, providing flexible, curb-to-curb connectivity in lower-density areas where traditional fixed-route buses were less efficient.
While the total number of routes will be lower than before, the strategic redesign actually increases overall access, with 6% more people in the region within a quarter of a mile of MARTA service.
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