Atlanta

ATLANTA — MARTA said that the Authority has achieved an operating budget surplus for the second year in a row – recording $12.1 million in additional revenues for FY07. This marks only the second time in 20 years that MARTA has recorded an operating budget surplus for two consecutive fiscal years. MARTA also ended FY07 with $117.4 million in capital reserves. The capital program funds additions and improvements to infrastructure and supports the Authority’s bonding capacity. “Thanks to a strict fiscal management plan, strategic cost containment measures and improved financial performance in recent years, MARTA has achieved this significant accomplishment,”

ATLANTA – From July to December 2006, MARTA’s passenger counts grew by 7.2 percent and passenger revenue increased by 3.8 percent over the same period last year.   Nationwide, public transit ridership grew by 2.9 percent from 2005 to 2006. “MARTA is working hard to improve service and attract more riders to the system and we are pleased to see the positive results of our efforts,” said General Manager Richard McCrillis. “We hope to sustain this trend through the multiple renewal and improvement efforts we have underway – including our rail car rehabilitation project, increased service levels, and heightened focus on

ATLANTA — MARTA, metro Atlanta’s mass transit system, is reviewing the so-called station gaps, the distance between subway stops, according to a report in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Officials hope adding more stations to the 48-mile line will attract more riders. Extending the rail line would cost roughly $100 million per mile, while building the “infill stations” might be a cheaper approach. “MARTA’s approach has always been to extend the line, and once they’ve built that, development would come,” Lara Hodgson, a member of metro Atlanta’s regional Transit Planning Board, told the newspaper. “But what if you did the opposite?” she

ATLANTA – Richard J. McCrillis has been named general manager and Chief Executive officer of the authority of MARTA. He has served as interim general manager/CEO since January. “Richard McCrillis brings a wealth of experience to the table and is the clear choice to lead MARTA at this critical time in our history,“ MARTA Board Chairman Edmund Wall said. “As Interim General Manager, Richard has charted a course focused on fiscal responsibility, customer-focused service planning and regional transportation development, and the Board is excited to continue working with him to achieve these goals.” McCrillis joined MARTA in 1985 as Director

ATLANTA — The city’s mass transit system has posted its first operating profit in nine years, it announced today. For fiscal year 2005-06, MARTA finished in the black by $19 million, The Associated Press reported. Officials has expected an $18 million loss. "It’s a very positive picture going into the future," AP quoted Richard McCrillis, MARTA’s interim general manager, as saying. "MARTA has its financial picture together."