C Transit Voter Guide
Cobb voters to decide on 30-year transit tax
TRANSIT TAX DECISION
By Hunter Riggall hriggall@mdjonline.com
In just a few weeks, Cobb County voters will choose one of two paths.
A countywide referendum will ask: should Cobb raise its sales tax by 1%, for 30 years, to fund public transportation?
It’s one of the biggest decisions in the history of Cobb, which voted against joining MARTA in 1965, voted to authorize the creation of CobbLinc, an independent bus system, in 1987, and has historically been skeptical of mass transit.
If approved, Cobb’s sales tax would increase from 6% to 7%. Over three decades, the estimated $11 billion in collections would overhaul transit in the county.
Combined with anticipated federal grants, Cobb expects to spend $14.5 billion over the life of the tax.
The main elements of the Mobility Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (M-SPLOST) are 108 miles of rapid bus routes, half a dozen new transit centers and a countywide system of on-demand “microtransit” service.
The M-SPLOST’s new transit would be operated by the county’s own CobbLinc, and not be part of MARTA. The proposal does not include rail.
To help voters decide, the MDJ has dedicated this voter guide to the transit tax proposal. In it, you can find:
♦ Background and history of SPLOST referendums;
♦ Specifics on the proposed projects;
♦ An analysis of the economics of sales taxes;
♦ The stories of people who rely on Cobb’s existing transit;
♦ A critical look at CobbLinc’s ridership and financing;
♦ A review of another major effort to curb congestion — interstate express lanes;
♦ Q&As with the transit tax’s architect and her opponents;
♦ Opinions from readers on both sides of the issue.
Presently, Cobb’s sales tax has a base rate of 4%. Two SPLOST taxes, 1% each, are already in place. One funds the county government and six of its cities, the other funds Cobb’s two school systems. County sales tax rates range from 6-9% in Georgia. At the moment, Cobb is tied for the lowest sales tax in the state
— only three other counties have a 6% rate.
The transit tax has been spearheaded by the Democratic members on the Cobb Board of Commissioners. Republican officials and conservative groups are working to defeat it.
M-SPLOST supporters say transformational change is needed to accommodate population growth, provide more transportation options, ease congestion and spur economic development.
Opponents, meanwhile, criticize the tax for its length and cost, unprecedented in the history of Cobb’s SPLOST referendums, and have questioned whether the system would be widely used.
CobbLinc now offers nine local routes, five express routes, two circulator routes, one flex route, and paratransit service within threequarters of a mile of the 11 local fixed routes.
The M-SPLOST would fund the construction of seven bus rapid transit (BRT) routes and three arterial rapid transit (ART) routes.
BRT would operate mainly in new dedicated travel lanes. ART would operate in some dedicated lanes, but would otherwise mix with traffic.
Those routes would cost an estimated $6 billion to build, while $5 billion more would be split between local transit expansion and vehicles, facilities and amenities.
Just over $3 billion is estimated to cover transit technology; more localized, on-demand transit known as microtransit; and improvements to roads, sidewalks and trails.
Both BRT and ART would stop at stations featuring off-board fare collection, sheltered stops, lighting and other amenities; and would operate at a frequency of every 15 to 20 minutes.
BRT stops would be approximately every half-mile; ART stops would be every quar-
ter- to half-mile.
BRT and ART buses would both enjoy signal priority at intersections — use of technology or “queue jumper” lanes which give buses priority at red lights.
The “high-capacity transit” routes — BRT and ART — would connect places like Town Center and Kennesaw State University, Marietta, Cumberland, Wellstar Cobb Hospital, Mableton and Smyrna. They would also connect to the Arts Center, Dunwoody and H.E. Holmes MARTA stations.
The cities of Austell, Powder Springs and Acworth, as well as the west Cobb area, would have little access to high-capacity transit. Downtown Kennesaw would also not be on a high-capacity transit route. The only highcapacity route that would go into the heart of east Cobb would be along Roswell Road.
The BRT connection to Midtown Atlanta would use Interstate 75. BRT would also run on I-285, from I-20 in the south to Georgia 400 in the east.
Additionally, the project list includes a countywide system of “microtransit,” which would bring connectivity to areas with little or no access to the fixed routes.
The county envisions microtransit — ondemand, localized transit vehicles — as providing “curb to curb” service within 14 defined zones.
Cobb plans to use up to $950 million in revenue bonds to frontload spending and build the majority of the transit within the first decade of the tax. In the next two decades, the county would use M-SPLOST revenue to finish the system, pay off the bonds and maintain operations.
To view all of our coverage on the transit tax, including the full project list, visit mdjonline.com/transit.
For the better part of a year, much of my job has been reporting on Cobb’s looming transit tax vote.
We’ve spilled a lot of ink trying to educate voters on the tax — projects proposed, how it will impact you, what both sides think. It’s a big decision for Cobb: a 30-year, 1% sales tax, projected to collect $11 billion, intended to overhaul public transportation in the county. That reporting’s involved riding the buses to get a feel for the system and its users.
Earlier this year, to cap a series we ran about CobbLinc’s ridership and funding, I was assigned to write a column about my experience on the buses. So what’s new?
In the last column, I started with an anecdote about a dysfunctional robot bathroom at the Cumberland transfer center. I’m pleased to report that on my last visit, the bathroom was clean, and the sink was working. And how about those fareboxes?
When reporting the aforementioned series, we learned CobbLinc fareboxes were frequently malfunctioning, leaving an unknown amount of fare revenue on the table.
In my last column, I tried and failed to pay with my Breeze card on five trips, saving myself — or costing the taxpayer, depending on your perspective — $12.50. Cobb recently spent $1.4 million to replace the fareboxes. Since then, I’ve taken six trips and been able to pay four times.. So from my limited experience, the new tech is an improvement, though not perfect. And occupancy? It matches what the data says, as far as I can tell. Routes 10 and 30 are popular, and the buses are pretty full. The other routes I’ve tried — Routes 15, 40 and 50 — were a little more sparse. What about timing?
In a recent MDJ column, Smyrna resident Stephen Mattson told his story about a bus he waited for, after leaving a Braves game, which never came. I’ve also made a frustrating attempt to catch a circulator bus in the Battery after a game, only to give up after waiting too long. Maybe it’s the postgame traffic. But for the most part, the buses run on time. Last time around, I found the buses to be clean and comfortable, and drivers friendly. That remains true. Even when you’re paying the fare, they’re cheap to use — the standard $2.50 fare hasn’t changed in 13 years. Since then, the cost of everything else has gone up by 40%.
Robin Rayne
Riders on CobbLinc buses.
Robin Rayne
CobbLinc buses are seen in Marietta.
Riggall
TRANSIT TAX IN COBB
What is SPLOST?
By Hunter Riggall hriggall@mdjonline.com
SPLOST stands for Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, a financing method used by local governments across the state.
These sales taxes are approved in countywide referendums. In Cobb, that means all registered voters in the county vote on a SPLOST, which when approved raises the sales tax across the entire county.
Regular SPLOSTs are used to fund capital projects, which can include road resurfacing, parks, government buildings, vehicles and more.
Typically levied at a rate of 1%, regular SPLOSTs in Cobb County provide funding to the county government and the county’s city governments.
Education SPLOSTs, also taxed at 1% which are developed and voted on separately, benefit Cobb’s two public school systems — Cobb
County School District and Marietta City Schools. Funds have been used to build and renovate schools, among other expenses. In general, county government SPLOSTs can be levied for periods up to five years, after which they end or must be re-approved by the voters. If the county and municipalities enter into an intergovernmental agreement, however, the tax may be imposed for up to six years, as is the case in the current Cobb County SPLOST cycle.
Education SPLOSTs, meanwhile, can be imposed for up to five years.
Before a SPLOST is placed on the ballot, the Board of Commissioners must create a list of projects for which proceeds will be used. The county is also required to provide the estimated cost of each project and the estimated revenues the tax will collect.
If local governments plan to create debt and issue bonds
backed by the SPLOST, it must indicate its intentions to do so on the ballot.
SPLOST revenues are collected into a separate account than the county’s general fund.
The legislation enabling the creation of SPLOST was enacted in 1985. Since then, SPLOSTS have become widespread in Georgia. Cobb voters have regularly approved new regular and education SPLOST cycles for years.
The Association of County Commissioners of Georgia has attributed the popularity of SPLOST referendums to the “unpopularity of property taxes and the simplicity and perceived fairness of sales taxes.”
What is the ‘M-SPLOST?’
The proposed Mobility Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax would create an additional 1% countywide sales tax in Cobb to fund public transit projects.
Presently, Cobb’s sales tax
has a base rate of 4%. Two SPLOST taxes, 1% each, are already in place. One funds the county government and six of its cities, the other funds Cobb’s two school systems.
If the M-SPLOST is approved, Cobb’s sales tax would rise from 6% to 7%.
Aside from funds being explicitly dedicated to transit projects, the M-SPLOST is distinguished by its proposed length of 30 years.
The unprecedented timeframe of the M-SPLOST also means that more revenue is at stake in a single referendum.
The current regular SPLOST is estimated to collect $750 million for the county and its cities, and the current education SPLOST is estimated to collect $966 million for Cobb’s two school systems.
The M-SPLOST, meanwhile, is estimated to collect $11 billion.
If approved, the M-SPLOST would be used to construct 108 miles of rapid bus routes, half a dozen new transit centers and a countywide system of on-demand “microtransit” service.
How to vote in the M-SPLOST referendum
Staff reports
When to vote on Election Day
The M-SPLOST will be on the ballot in the general election on Nov. 5. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voters must bring a photo ID. Where to vote on Election Day
To find your voting precinct, visit the Georgia My Voter Page at mvp.sos.ga.gov.
When and where to vote early
Early in-person voting is available from Oct. 15 through Nov.
1. Hours are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Saturday, at all 12 locations.
Anyone registered to vote in Cobb can vote at any of the early voting sites. Early voting will be offered noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays at five locations.
Early voting locations are listed below. The first five locations have Sunday voting, the others do not.
1. Elections Main Office: 995 Roswell St. NE, Marietta
2. North Cobb Senior Center: 3900 South Main St., Acworth
3. South Cobb Community Center: 620 Lions Club Drive, Mableton
4. East Cobb Government Service Center: 4400 Lower Roswell Road, Marietta
5. Boots Ward Recreation
The referendum as it appears on the voting machine.
Center: 4845 Dallas Highway, Powder Springs 6. Smyrna Community Center: 1250 Powder Springs St. SE, Smyrna 7. Collar Park Community Center: 2625 Joe Jerkins Blvd., Austell
8. Tim D. Lee Senior Center: 3332 Sandy Plains Road, Marietta
9. West Cobb Regional Library: 1750 Dennis Kemp Lane, Kennesaw
10. Ben Robertson Community Center: 2753 Watts Drive, Kennesaw
11. Fair Oaks Recreation Center: 1465 West Booth Road Extension, Marietta
12. Ron Anderson Recreation Center: 3820 Macedonia Road, Powder Springs
When to vote absentee
Cobb began mailing ballots out on Oct. 7. The last day to request an absentee ballot is Oct. 25.
Glossary of transit terms
Editor’s note: Below is a list of terms related to Cobb County’s upcoming M-SPLOST referendum
ART — Arterial rapid transit. Rubber-tire buses run on fixed routes through major thoroughfares, connecting to regional destinations. Uses both dedicated lanes and regular lanes, as well as “queue jump” lanes, and transit signal priority.
BRT — Bus rapid transit. Rubber-tire buses run on fixed routes through major thoroughfares, connecting to regional destinations. Used primarily on dedicated lanes. Stops are anticipated to be a half-mile to 1 mile apart, with service frequency every 15-20 minutes. CobbLinc — Cobb County’s bus system, operating since 1999. CobbLinc would operate new transit systems funded by the M-SPLOST. Commuter buses — Rubber-tire buses that serve long-distance routes, targeted toward commuters. Current CobbLinc commuter routes connect riders to midtown and downtown Atlanta via the I-75 and I-20 corridors. CobbLinc currently consists mostly of local and commuter buses, and paratransit, plus a limited microtransit program.
Dedicated lanes — New traffic lanes built for and used solely by transit vehicles. In some cases, will be grade-separated and include flyover lanes.
Heavy rail — In the public transit context, passenger trains, in exclusive, grade-separated right-of-ways. Designed to carry a heavy volume of passengers on high-speed electric railways. In metro Atlanta, MARTA is the only heavy rail transit operator.
High-capacity transit — In the context of M-SPLOST, an umbrella term referring to BRT and ART.
Light rail — Passenger trains, on gradeseparated or street-level right-of-ways, designed to carry a lighter volume of passengers at lower speeds than heavy rail.
Local buses — Rubber-tire buses that mix with other traffic, with frequent stops every quarter-mile. Serve local destinations. CobbLinc currently consists mostly of local and commuter buses, and paratransit, plus a limited microtransit program.
Microtransit — On-demand transit service to provide “first and last mile mobility” in lower-demand areas, connecting riders to the high-capacity transit. The M-SPLOST would create 14 microtransit zones across the county. M-SPLOST — Mobility Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax. A voter-approved sales tax over a set period of time to fund transit capital projects. In the case of the M-SPLOST, the tax would be 1% and last for 30 years.
Absentee ballots will begin being mailed out Oct. 7.
Completed ballots are due back by close of polls on Election Day (7 p.m. on Nov. 5). Request an absentee ballot
To download an absentee ballot application, visit cobbcounty.org/elections/voting/ absentee-voting
To send in the completed application:
♦ Fax: 770-528-2458
♦ Mail: Cobb County Board of Elections and Registration, P.O. Box 649, Marietta, GA 30061-0649. If using a shipping service that doesn’t deliver to a P.O. Box, use the office address: 995 Roswell St. NE, Marietta, GA 30060
♦ In-Person: Cobb County Board of Elections and Registration Office, 995 Roswell St. NE, Marietta, GA 30060
♦ Email: Absentee@cobbcounty.org
Submit an absentee ballot
To submit a completed absentee ballot:
♦ Mail: Cobb County Board of Elections and Registration, P.O. Box 649, Marietta, GA 30061-0649. If using a shipping service that doesn’t deliver to a P.O. Box, use the office address: 995 Roswell St. NE, Marietta, GA 30060
♦ Hand-deliver in person: Cobb Elections Office, 995 Roswell St NE, Marietta, GA 30060
Paratransit — CobbLinc’s paratransit service provides shared-ride, curb-to-curb service for customers with disabilities or other limitations which prevent them from accessing the regular bus service. Paratransit is currently offered within a one-mile radius of bus routes.
Queue jump lanes — Extra lanes for transit installed right before and right after intersections, allowing buses to jump the queue of cars waiting at a red light.
SPLOST revenue bonds — Municipal bonds, issued by local governments to raise money for capital investment. Lenders purchase the bonds by loaning the government money. Governments pay back the bondholders over a period of time, with interest, using SPLOST revenue.
Transit signal priority — Use of technology to give transit the priority at intersections and stop lights.
Transit supportive projects — Various transportation infrastructure projects which would be funded by the M-SPLOST in order to facilitate construction and access to the transit system. Includes bridges, grade separation, road widening, sidewalks, intersection improvements, bike lanes and trails. Transfer center — Transit hubs where riders can switch routes and access connections to MARTA and other transit systems. Cobb currently has two transfer centers — one on South Marietta Parkway in Marietta and one on Cumberland Boulevard in Cumberland. If approved, the M-SPLOST would fund the rebuilding of the two existing centers, and add transit centers in south Cobb, east Cobb and north Cobb.
Courtesy - Cobb County
This map shows the full transit network Cobb County plans to build under the M-SPLOST.
TRANSIT TAX IN COBB
For regular riders, CobbLinc is crucial
By Hunter Riggall hriggall@mdjonline.com
On a daily basis, 424,000 Cobb Countians commute to work. On average, it takes them 30 minutes.
In this sprawling, suburban county, most households have a car, and only 44% of residents live within a quarter-mile of a bus route. Those buses, should you choose to take them, usually come on a half-hourly or hourly basis.
In that system, transit can’t compete with the speed of driving. The result is that 70% of Cobb drives to work, alone, and just 0.7% takes transit. Some 20% now work from home.
But for those 30,000 or so who commute via transit, the CobbLinc bus system is crucial to their paycheck.
“It’s a great option to have,” said Derrick Thompson, who lives off Delk Road in Marietta. “… Some people don’t want to take it because it’s inconvenient, sometimes it might be raining, sometimes it might be too cold. … But at least it’s a way to work and home. … And the fare is not bad.”
In a few weeks, Cobb will consider a historic investment in transit. On the Nov. 5 ballot, residents countywide will vote on a 30-year, 1% sales tax to fund public transportation projects. The centerpiece of the proposal is bus rapid transit.
(Learn more: mdjonline. com/transit)
If approved, the transit system Cobb plans to build would be vastly superior to what exists today: faster and more frequent service, more extensive routes, dedicated bus lanes, high-quality stations and more.
If that enhanced system can match the speed of driving, it could attract many more riders, though supporters and opponents of the tax disagree on how many. The county, for its part, projects there would be 40,600 weekday rides by 2050, up from 10,400 in 2020.
For now, the conventional wisdom in Cobb is that transit is an option used mostly by people who have no other choice.
In interviews, CobbLinc users said the same thing — they would drive themselves if they could. “I wouldn’t normally do it,” said Thompson, who is taking the bus because his truck broke down. “... I get tired of it when I don’t have a car, and while I have a vehicle I never take it.” Riders, however, also said they were grateful to have the buses, and had few complaints about how CobbLinc is run.
If the transit tax is approved, Cobb’s sales tax would increase from 6% to 7%.
Known officially as the Mobility Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (M-SPLOST), the tax would collect $11 billion to construct 108 miles of rapid bus routes, half a dozen new transit centers and a countywide system of on-demand “microtransit” service.
None of the riders who spoke to the MDJ had heard of the transit tax referendum. But all were intrigued about the possibility of better transit in Cobb.
Who rides transit?
Much of the federal funding CobbLinc receives — which paid for 48% of operating costs in 2022 — is contingent on the system serving its most vulnerable passengers.
“A lot of the folks that utilize our system are transit-dependent,” Cobb Transportation Director Drew Raessler previously said. “… A lot of the (federal) funding requires it, but we make sure that we’re operating a system that takes care of those that absolutely need it.”
Greg Erhardt, a civil engineering professor at the University of Kentucky, told the MDJ earlier this year that transit has two main benefits: taking cars off the road, and providing transportation to those who don’t have a car or can’t drive.
“That tends to be low-income people,” Erhardt said. “In particular, it’s disproportionately minorities, and maybe someone who’s in a wheelchair, this sort of thing.
“Even though it’s a relatively small share of the population in a lot of places in the U.S., those are important trips to serve, in part because it
enables people to work. … If you don’t have a car, and you can’t get to work, there’s costs both to that person, and to society as a whole.”
County assessments of CobbLinc have found the “transit-oriented” population is most concentrated along existing bus routes: along the Interstate 75 corridor from Cumberland to Kennesaw, along the Austell Road corridor from Marietta to south Cobb, in the Fair Oaks area west of Dobbins Air Reserve Base, and near I-20 in Mableton.
“I am adamant about us optimizing transit here, for particularly those who are dependent on transit,” Cobb Chairwoman Lisa Cupid previously told the MDJ, in an interview about the tax.
Antonio Johnson has lived with his mother in Cumberland since moving to Cobb from Louisiana five years ago. He works at a Wendy’s near the Big Chicken.
He used to have a car, but lost it in April because he couldn’t pay $5,000 for a new transmission. And while his mother has a vehicle, she needs it to commute to her job at the Atlanta airport.
So every work day, Johnson takes CobbLinc’s Route 10 up Cobb Parkway to work. Occasionally he’ll use rideshare apps, but that can run him $15, compared to a $2.50 bus fare. He likes that it’s a straight shot, and his only real complaint is dealing with “crazy people.”
“It’d probably be nice,” he said, upon learning about the M-SPLOST. “I’m going to definitely look into it.”
Another transit commuter is Jerchari Clark of Mableton, who works at a liquor warehouse off Fulton-Industrial Boulevard. He owns a car but lost his license, so he relies on CobbLinc and MARTA buses for his 30-minute commute.
After his 10-hour shift, which runs from 6 p.m. to 4 a.m., he takes rideshare home, since the buses aren’t running.
Nahiam Burden, a CobbLinc driver of 20 years, drives the 50 Route.
“Just regular everyday people, going to work, trying to
take care of their families,” Burden said, describing his passengers. “... Common, working class people.”
Burden has always been a transit fan. As a kid in New York City, he loved taking the bus. He memorized the routes and would ride for fun, befriending drivers. He’d heard of the M-SPLOST, but didn’t know many details.
“That would be great, that would be nice,” he said. “… Not everybody can get around. There’s a lot of people with disabilities. … It would definitely improve traffic. But it all depends on if the people really want it. Because there’s a big stigma about buses.”
‘Yin and yang’
One of those disabled people is Shawn Creecy, who lives off Riverside Parkway in Mableton, and takes transit everywhere.
On a recent weekday, Creecy was taking the 30 Route to the H.E. Holmes MARTA station, then planned to take the train to downtown Atlanta for a medical appointment. The bus driver extended a ramp, allowing him to board in his wheelchair, before the driver folded up seats and used straps to secure the chair. As the bus began moving, the wheelchair lurched a bit, before stabilizing.
Creecy, 31, was shot in the back at 16 in Clayton County, an innocent bystander to a drive-by shooting. He’s been paralyzed from the chest down ever since.
Creecy used to have a car he operated with hand controls, but it was stolen. He lives with his brother and often visits family, but doesn’t like asking people for rides. Transit enables him to get around independently.
“I don’t like to depend on people anyway,” he said. “The buses, they help me out.”
Victoria Baucum lives in Atlanta’s Adamsville neighborhood, but previously lived in Cobb. She recently rode CobbLinc to get to a doctor’s appointment in Cumberland.
Baucum had a 15-year career in live events and worked at the Georgia World Congress Center. Then COVID-19 hit, and the convention business went up in smoke. She
lost her job and wound up homeless. She was ticketed for driving without car insurance and spent time in jail.
After that, “I refused to drive for a year,” she said. “It was like this experiment I did. … It was the best and the worst year of my life, but it was interesting.”
During that year, she relied on bicycling and public transportation. While she enjoys biking, she’ll opt for driving when she can.
“You just sit in traffic here all the time,” Baucum said. “And on a bike, I’ve got my music, I’m out in the fresh air, I get in good shape. … But at the same time, if I have a car, I don’t bike at all.”
Baucum has an apartment now, and a resale business, picking up free items listed on the internet and selling them for a profit.
A recent car issue, however, led to her getting back on the bike.
Baucum was skeptical the M-SPLOST would pass — “nobody likes buses, people like trains.” But she resents the suggestion, made by some, that transit brings crime to communities.
“It’s yin and yang,” she said. “With all good things come a couple rough things. But there’s more good than bad.”
Wanda Billingslea of Mableton is a mother of five and doesn’t have a car. She relies on the bus when she needs to get to Marietta.
“It’s all right,” she said of the system. “It gets me where I need to go. It’s a lot of walking … before you catch the bus.”
Billingslea knows there are many in Cobb who never take the bus. But if the system were upgraded significantly, she could see that changing.
“Since they’re building up in Mableton and this area anyway, I think that’d be great,” she said. “… I think they (wealthier people) would be riding the bus a little bit more if it was upgraded.”
How many rely on it?
It’s not entirely clear how many people in Cobb are considered “transit-dependent.”
Cobb transportation officials said the county does not know how many people use CobbLinc on a weekly
or monthly basis. The system only records passenger volume — the number of rides taken.
Some statistics help paint the picture, like the 30,000 workers who use transit to commute. There are others who use it to run errands, visit family, get to school or doctor’s offices. The Census estimates that 3.5% of Cobb households — 12,000 households — have no vehicle. Another 31% — 98,000 households — have one vehicle.
The county has studied who lives near transit, and what percentage of them fall into certain groups. Cobb estimates that 33% of impoverished residents, 40% of zero-vehicle households, 14% of seniors and 27% of minorities live near a bus line.
If the M-SPLOST projects are built, those numbers would increase — 41% of impoverished residents, 50% of zero-vehicle households, 24% of seniors and 36% of minorities would live near bus lines.
Plus, the entire county would have access to the on-demand microtransit.
For transit tax opponents, the transit-dependent population is too small to justify the length and cost of the M-SPLOST.
“Is it right to do a massive taxpayer subsidy to reduce the amount of money that you spend to get from point A to point B?” said anti-tax activist Lance Lamberton. “Isn’t that responsibility in the hands of the individual to take care of? … To pay for it themselves.”
For Cupid and her supporters, the M-SPLOST can serve the transit-dependent, while also reducing congestion and spurring economic development.
“I would love to see us collectively have a different shift in the work that we do … in thinking about how we are investing and making Cobb County as great as it can be for everyone,” Cupid said. “… At some point, we’ve got to look forward in how we do things. And this is a great opportunity that we have to do so.”
Antonio Johnson rides CobbLinc’s Route 10 to his job at Wendy’s.
Derrick Thompson of Marietta rides CobbLinc’s Route 50.
Shawn Creecy of Mableton gets off a CobbLinc bus at the H.E. Holmes MARTA station.
Victoria Baucum of Atlanta rides CobbLinc’s Route 10 in Cumberland.
Nahiam Burden, a CobbLinc driver of two decades, stands in front of a bus.
A package-laden rider sits on CobbLinc’s Route 50 bus.
Photos by Robin Rayne and Hunter Riggall
Six years after opening, how have I-75 Express Lanes fared?
By Hunter Riggall hriggall@mdjonline.com
When it comes to solving transportation headaches, officials often turn to two options: more roads or more transit.
On Nov. 5, Cobb County voters will consider increasing the sales tax they pay to raise billions of dollars for more transit.
Heretofore, officials’ solution to Cobb’s traffic woes, especially at the state level, has mainly been to invest in roads.
No project in recent history illustrates that better than the Northwest Corridor Express Lanes on Interstates 75 and 575. When they were built, the nearly 30 miles of reversible toll lanes were the largest transportation project in Georgia history, costing $834 million.
Nearly six years after opening, the express lanes have been effective at providing faster trip times, according to the state.
Over time, the lanes have become more popular and more expensive to use, state data shows.
The Georgia Department of Transportation is doubling down on toll lanes as an answer to metro Atlanta’s infamous congestion. Construction on 16 miles of express lanes for State Route 400 is expected to start next year. Even more ambitious are plans to add two barrier-separated lanes in each direction along the “top end” of I-285. Eventually, GDOT hopes to create a “hub-and-spoke” system of interconnected express lanes across metro Atlanta.
History Plans to use express lanes to ease metro Atlanta’s traffic started developing in the early 2000s as interstates were running out of room, and the region kept growing.
“We realized that we were running out of available right of way along the interstate corridors in the region, and that any expansions of the interstate network, it was going to be very important that we manage those as much as we could to get increased, improved mobility,” said John Orr, managing director of transportation planning for the Atlanta Regional Commission.
Adding more free lanes hasn’t reduced congestion, said GDOT program manager Tim Matthews.
“We’ve been widening it for years and years and years, and every time we widen it, it just fills back up,” he said.
In 2011, high-occupancy vehicle lanes — free to use for cars with two or more occupants — were converted to paid Peach Pass express lanes on the northeast side of metro Atlanta on I-85. In 2017, express lanes opened on I-75 on the south side. The following year, the state opened an extension of the I-85 Express Lanes, as well as the Northwest Corridor Express Lanes.
GDOT had previously indicated the 285 Express Lanes would be complete by 2032, though the timeline is now less clear. The project just wrapped up another public comment period as part of its environmental process. The next phase, procuring a developer to lead the project, could take more than a year. The first phase to be built will be on the northeast side of the perimeter, the northwest side in Cobb will come after.
Going forward, the biggest metro Atlanta road projects in the state’s pipeline will be more express lanes, as well as redoing major highway
Northwest Corridor Express Lanes
Opened in 2018, the northwest Corridor express lanes are 29.7 miles of reversible lanes from akers Mill Road to Hickory Grove Road on i-75 and on i-575 to Sixes Road
BY THE NUMBERS: FY2023
8,321,286 trips
2.05% non-tolled trips
$2.65 average toll fare
693,000 average monthly trips
$20,287,667 toll revenue for northwest express lanes
$63,689,715 toll revenue for all metro atlanta express lanes
$48,383,937 operating expenses for all express lanes
35,852 highest one-day total express lanes were 4 mph faster than regular lanes in the morning express lanes were 18 mph faster than regular lanes in the evening
Source: State Road and Tollway authority Fy2023 annual Report
I-75-I-285 interchange in Cobb was ranked the 18th worst truck bottleneck in the U.S. last year by the American Transport Research Institute. But motorists using the Northwest Express Lanes on their commutes often save 15 to 30 minutes, per GDOT.
Speeds in general purpose lanes are 10-15 mph faster than before the express lanes opened, GDOT officials have said. A year after opening, the average northbound speed on I-75 at peak rush hour doubled from 20 mph to 40 mph. The lanes also led to the morning and evening rush hour periods shrinking by an hour, the state says. In fiscal year 2023, express lanes were about 4 mph faster than regular lanes in the mornings, and 18 mph faster in the afternoon/evening, according to SRTA.
A 2022 Georgia State University study, with support from GDOT, surveyed people living along the Northwest Corridor.
Among all respondents, commutes shortened by about two minutes from pre-opening to 2022.
Randall Guensler, a Georgia Tech professor who has studied the impact of the express lanes on behalf of SRTA, said the number of vehicles on the I-75 corridor increased in the years after the express lanes opened. There are several theories as to why. One is that people avoided I-75 and I-575 during construction, then returned once it finished. Another is that commuters who previously used Georgia 400 or I-20 started using the I-75 corridor once the express lanes opened.
Others may have switched from using arterial roads like Cobb Parkway to using the interstate. Guensler said there’s truth to the concept of induced demand — if you build more lanes, more people will use the interstate and fill them. But determining where new traffic came from is difficult.
Source: State Road and Tollway authority The tolls on the Northwest Express Lanes rise and fall with demand. In the lanes’ first month September 2018, the average toll was just 94 cents. Tolls grew steadily to over $2 before taking a dip at the onset of the COVID pandemic in early 2020, before rising again and growing over time. The average toll has been higher than $3 since May 2023.
Source: State Road and Tollway authority Usage of the Northwest Corridor Express Lanes, measured in monthly trips, increased steadily from the lanes’ debut in fall 2018 until the onset of the COVID pandemic in early 2020. Usage has since recovered — every month from March 2022 to March 2024 saw more than 600,000 monthly trips.
interchanges to try to alleviate bottlenecks, Orr said. The Northwest Express Lanes, the longest of metro Atlanta’s four express lane segments, run for 29.7 miles through Cobb and Cherokee counties. On I-75, they run from Akers Mill Road in the south to Hickory Grove Road in the north. They split off from 75 where it meets I-575, continuing until Sixes Road. On weekdays, the lanes run southbound into the city from 1 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., and northbound from 1:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. The roadway is owned and operated by Georgia DOT, while Peach Pass pricing is operated by the State Road and Tollway Authority. The lanes were built mostly
with a mix of state and federal funds, including a $275 million loan through the U.S. Department of Transportation and $233 million in state gas tax funds.
In a first, the state leveraged roughly $60 million in private financing from the company selected to design and build the lanes.
The state is also using a public-private partnership to build the I-285 Express Lanes. Officials say it allows the state to free up public funds for other projects.
Toll revenue is used to service debt and pay for lane operations and maintenance.
The lanes are not without critics. Some skeptics view them as “Lexus lanes” for the rich, or question the fairness
of charging residents to use a taxpayer-funded road. Others say they’re nothing more than an expensive stopgap, calling for the state to invest in transit.
Rules of the Road
The express lanes use dynamic pricing, with tolls increasing with demand. There is a minimum rate of 10 cents per mile. During periods of very low demand, that is sometimes replaced with a fixed toll of 50 cents per trip.
Tolls are displayed on electronic signs with two rates. One is the cost to use the lane until the next express lane exit; the other is the cost to use the lane for its remaining length.
Large trucks and trailers are banned. Registered transit vehicles, vanpools and emergency vehicles use the lanes for free.
Express effect on traffic
According to the state, the Northwest Express Lanes offer faster speeds not just in express lanes, but in general purpose lanes, too.
“We found that not only are folks getting reliable trip times in that corridor, but the folks who are not using the express lanes are getting better trip times in the GP (general purpose) lanes, because we freed up room in the GP lane,” Matthews said. Both interstates, 75 and 575, still have their regular slowdowns and jams. The
“It’s hard to know what’s new demand and what’s been shifted around,” he said. The express lanes have also led to a decrease in carpooling, Guensler said.
“I guess that’s not surprising,” he said. “There’s less incentive to form a carpool when you have reduced congestion and improved speed.” But despite a higher throughput of vehicles, the lanes have been successful in tempering congestion, he said.
To understand why, you have to understand what causes congestion in the first place.
“Once the vehicles get too close together and the separation between the cars is uncomfortable, then somebody pumps their brakes, and the flow breaks down,” he said. “It essentially drops into a congested condition.”
The queue builds up and doesn’t release until demand drops, or in the case of a crash, the blocked roadway is cleared. Congestion, Guensler said, is “nonlinear.” A simple increase in cars doesn’t necessarily cause a jam.
“It doesn’t take much,” to cause a jam, Guensler said. “Once you get to a certain tipping point, and the flow breaks down, you go immediately from operating at 45, 40 mph down to 20, 25 mph. … And it takes a long time for that congestion to go away.”
Managed lanes, by taking some cars out of the
Stanley leary for the MDJ
This drone photo shows an aerial view of Interstate 75 and the Northwest Corridor Express Lanes near the I-75 overpass at Roswell Road in Marietta.
What would raising Cobb’s sales tax mean for consumers and businesses?
By Hunter Riggall hriggall@mdjonline.com
Purchase a No. 1 meal at the Marietta Chick-fil-A on Roswell Road today, and you’ll pay 55 cents in sales tax. If Cobb increases its sales tax by 1%, as voters may authorize Nov. 5, that chicken sandwich, fries and drink would cost nine cents more. The difference, of course, stands out more with big-ticket items. Purchase a $9,990 engagement ring at the D. Geller & Son in Cumberland today, and the sales tax is almost $600. Add 1%, and you’ll pay nearly $100 more.
But what will the average Cobb resident pay over the course of a month, or a year, or 30 years, if the sales tax goes up? What will those 1% increments add up to when applied to all of the items, small and large in price, a consumer purchases?
The answer isn’t clear. Cobb County does not have any such estimates, its communications office told the Marietta Daily Journal.
On Election Day, Cobb residents will vote on approving a 30-year, 1% sales tax to fund public transit projects. Cobb’s sales tax would increase from 6% to 7%.
The Mobility Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (M-SPLOST) would collect $11 billion to construct 108 miles of rapid bus routes, half a dozen new transit centers and a countywide system of on-demand “microtransit” service.
Georgia levies a 4% sales tax statewide. If the M-SPLOST is approved, it would be the third additional 1% sales tax on the books in Cobb. Residents already pay a 1% SPLOST for general government, split between the county and its cities, and a 1% SPLOST to fund education, split between Cobb’s two school districts.
Cobb expects to collect $10.87 billion from the M-SPLOST over 30 years. That works out to, on average, $30.2 million in collections per month.
The county SPLOST on the books now generated, on average, $18 million per month over the last 12 months for which data is available.
Cobb an outlier
At the moment, Cobb is tied for the lowest sales tax in the state. Only three other counties have a 6% rate — Cherokee, Gwinnett and Glynn.
The sales tax rate ranges from 6-9% across Georgia. A 7% rate would put Cobb closer to the average.
Forty-six of Georgia’s 159 counties have a 7% rate. The state’s average sales tax rate is 7.38%, putting it at 19th highest in the nation, according to an analysis by the Tax Foundation, a conservative-leaning think tank.
The prospect of raising Cobb’s sales tax has led some to wonder whether consumers will respond by, say, choosing to shop in a different county, thereby hurting local merchants.
Scott Baker, a professor of finance at Northwestern University, has studied the effects of state and local taxes on businesses and households, including how consumers respond to changes in tax rates.
In some cases, people do go elsewhere to make purchases.
“Households … they’re behaving in fairly sophisticated ways,” Baker said. “They do a lot of things that you might think. … If it (the sales tax) increases, they start shopping more cross border, where they can.” The effect depends on what people are purchasing, and where they live. People are more willing to make an effort to avoid taxes on big-ticket items, Baker said.
The effects are also greater for items with high tax rates, such as cigarettes and alcohol. Consumers may drive to other jurisdictions to purchase large quantities of those items.
Baker’s research also indicates that households may “pull forward” or “push back” spending.
“If taxes were going to increase, they would pull forward spending to the month before the tax went into effect,” he said.
The long-term effects, however, are much more muted, Baker said. In general, people going to the store are stocking up on all sorts of goods, whether they’re subject to sales tax or not.
Cobb residents wouldn’t have many options to seek lower taxes. Gwinnett County voters are also set to vote in November on a 1% transit sales tax. And three neighboring states — Alabama, Tennessee and South Caro-
lina — have higher average sales tax rates than Georgia, according to the Tax Foundation.
Clint Mueller, director of governmental affairs for the Association County Commissioners of Georgia, is skeptical that many consumers will travel in search of lower tax rates when weighed against other factors, like convenience.
“I just don’t think people, for a penny or so, unless it’s a really big ticket item, they’re not worried about driving to a cheaper place,” Mueller said.
Kyle Wingfield, president and CEO of the conservative Georgia Public Policy Foundation, believes there could be an effect.
“It’s going to have an effect on consumer behavior,” Wingfield said.
“And you see people will maybe go elsewhere to make certain purchases.”
Jonathan Geller, president and CEO of jeweler D. Geller & Son, said the transit tax would hurt his business.
“When we left Midtown and we moved to Cobb 50 years ago, my dad picked Cobb for a reason. ... It was strong leadership and it was tax advantages,” Geller said at a recent rally for M-SPLOST opponents. “...
Let’s say this goes through — my engagement ring budget’s just dropped by 1%. And that’s not nothing for a purchase that you’re going to shop around for, and you might shop for in a county that didn’t get hit with an increase.”
What is taxed?
Some high-end items subject to sales tax include jewelry, art, guns and clothing.
Other purchases have their own special tax in Georgia, instead of being subject to state and local sales tax. For home sales, there’s the real estate transfer tax. For most cars purchased after 2013, there’s the title ad valorem tax.
Most groceries aren’t subject to the 4% state sales tax, but they are subject to local sales tax. Prepared foods, such as at restaurants, are fully taxed.
There are also sales tax exemptions in Georgia for prescription drugs, glasses, contacts and insulin, as well as certain machinery and chemicals.
Most services are not subject to sales tax in Georgia, but there are exceptions, including taxis and limos, event tickets, and participation in games and amusements.
Gasoline is taxed by the state using a formula — which currently sets it at 32 cents per gallon — and is also subject to a federal gas tax.
When Georgia’s sales tax was es-
tablished in 1951, it quickly became the state’s largest revenue source, said Danny Kanso, director of legislative strategy and senior fiscal analyst at the left-leaning Georgia Budget and Policy Institute.
Over time, its capacity has diminished as services became a larger share of the economy. Now, it makes up about 23% of state revenue, compared to the 52% that comes from income tax.
And state lawmakers have, over the years, continued to add exemptions to the sales tax, further limiting what it applies to.
The share of services which are subject to sales tax in Georgia is likely in the bottom five among all states, Kanso said.
“We’ve seen just steadily … that capacity diminish in comparison to the economy,” he said.
In the case of the M-SPLOST, it would function mostly like the other local sales taxes do. But there are a few special exemptions to the transit tax laid out in the law, such as jet fuel, gasoline, fuel used for off-road heavy-duty equipment, and motor vehicles.
Who pays most
Flat sales taxes are considered regressive by economists, because people with lower incomes spend more of their earnings on the tax.
By contrast, progressive taxes, like the federal income tax, tax people more heavily if they earn more.
The regressive nature of sales taxes can be seen clearly in the data, said Kanso.
The lowest 20% of earners in Georgia pay 6% of their family income in sales tax. For the second-to-bottom 20%, it’s 5.5%, and for the middle 20%, it’s 4.6%, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.
“Low-income and middle-income folks are going to be the most sensitive to those tax changes,” Kanso said.
The top 1% of Georgia earners, meanwhile, pay just 1% of their family income in sales tax.
Kanso said counties and cities, however, shouldn’t be blamed for relying on sales taxes to build infrastructure, since it’s the legislature which determines what options localities have. They’re not allowed, for instance, to levy income tax.
“Preemption laws in Georgia are extremely restrictive, and limit local governments to a range of extremely regressive options that they have to raise revenue for essential services, like infrastructure and transit,” Kanso said.
ing fuel, and the proceeds are used to fund the state’s roads.
Kanso’s GBPI doesn’t typically take positions on local referendums, but Kanso noted, “infrastructure generally does benefit the economy as a whole, (and is) certainly something that is necessary as a function of government.”
“It’s just about how we pay for it and how we look at the overall distribution,” Kanso said.
A politically palatable tax
Roughly 90% of local sales tax referendums in Georgia are approved, said the ACCG’s Mueller.
“They (voters) like to know what they’re voting on,” said Mueller, referencing the project lists that are published ahead of SPLOST referendums.
In most referendums, however, voters aren’t making a 30-year commitment.
Sales taxes are generally more popular than income or property taxes, Mueller said. Georgia has more types of local sales taxes than most other states.
“The counties like them, and therefore we’ve (ACCG) advocated over the years for these different types of local sales tax options,” Mueller said. “… Whether they’re good or bad, it’s kind of up to the citizens to make that decision.”
In a 2016 guide to SPLOSTs, the ACCG attributed the popularity of sales taxes for financing capital projects to “the unpopularity of property taxes,” as well as “the simplicity and perceived fairness of sales taxes.”
SPLOSTs are often sold in part by arguing that much of the taxes will be paid by nonresidents — tourists, visitors and non-local commuters.
Hall
The argument that sales taxes are regressive is typically made by those on the political left. But that hasn’t stopped opponents of the M-SPLOST from employing it. At Cobb commission meetings, conservative public commenters have told the commission that its transit tax would hit the poorest families hardest.
“It impacts lower-income people more than upper-income people,” anti-tax activist Lance Lamberton told the MDJ. “If you have a lot of money, you’re probably not going to notice it. … If you’re kind of just getting by … you’re going to feel it.”
Lower-income people are also more likely to be users of public transit, though.
It’s difficult for the average citizen to estimate how much they’ll be taxed by an extra 1% over the course of a year, though Lamberton believes most people will pay hundreds of dollars more in sales taxes annually. He also called for the county to produce projections to answer that question.
The group Lamberton leads, the Cobb Taxpayers Association, is generally opposed to all SPLOST referendums. In recent years, he said, they’ve shifted to picking and choosing which taxes they’re going to campaign aggressively against.
But for Lamberton and his allies, the unprecedented 30-year tax, and its billions of dollars for transit, is the most egregious proposal yet.
“It’s a huge waste of money and resources,” he said.
Whatever one thinks of the sales tax as a funding mechanism, the need for better public transportation is clear, said pro-transit activist Matt Stigall.
“That’s kind of the only option, really, the state allows … It’s hard to sit there and wish for better when we kind of have our hands tied,” said Stigall, one of Cobb Chairwoman Lisa Cupid’s appointees to the county’s Transit Advisory Board.
The county already uses millions in sales tax revenue for road infrastructure, Stigall added. If that’s the way Cobb builds, then the county should also be investing in pedestrian and bike infrastructure, and public transportation.
“What type of county do we want to see for ourselves in 10, 15, 20 years?” Stigall said. “… We’re kind of at the fork in the road of, do we want to continue to pour money into more and more cars, or do we want to give people the option?”
Wingfield’s GPPF tends to advocate for user fees to fund transportation. The gas tax is one example — motorists pay it when purchas-
Cobb estimates that more than $2 billion of the $11 billion in MSPLOST collections will come from nonresidents.
“There’s some truth to that. It’s less true when everybody has the sales taxes,” Wingfield said. “It just means that when you cross the county line, you’re paying someone else’s SPLOST.”
With the exceptions of 1990 and the years between 1999 and 2005, there has been a county SPLOST on the books in Cobb every year since 1986.
“People just really hate the property tax,” Wingfield said. “Not so much that they enjoy paying sales taxes, but they intensely hate paying property taxes.”
Local governments like SPLOSTs, Wingfield said, because the referendum gets citizen buy-in.
“We’re letting you, the people, vote on this tax, and the people almost always vote to approve it, and the officials get the money that they wanted to spend,” Wingfield said.
Cobb voters have approved the past four general SPLOSTs, going back nearly two decades. And the margin of approval has increased over time. There were bare majorities in 2005 and 2011, but SPLOST won by six points in 2016, and by a 33-point landslide in 2022.
Six education SPLOSTs, meanwhile, have been approved by voters consecutively since 1999.
Governments which have become reliant on sales taxes start planning their budgets with the expectation the taxes will continue. In some cases, Wingfield said, it becomes the tail wagging the dog.
“There’s some evidence that they’ve increased the size of their general budgets to meet their general revenues,” Wingfield said. “And then they turn around and say, ‘Well, we don’t have money for construction or capital improvements or whatever, we need (to renew) this additional sales tax.’ … They put themselves in that position, because they came to count on that sales tax always being there.”
If the M-SPLOST is approved, residents won’t have the chance to vote on it again for three decades. Supporters argue the length is necessary in order to compete for federal grants. The federal government wants to know that its investment will be protected by a steady local revenue stream.
The referendum, if approved, will set Cobb on a course for many years.
“They’re essentially deciding to increase this tax, for all intents and purposes, on a permanent basis,” Wingfield said. “And that’s just something to keep in mind as they’re weighing the cost versus the benefit of this particular tax.”
Jennifer
Cobb is one of four counties in Georgia with a 6% sales tax rate. In November, voters will decide whether to raise Cobb’s rate to 7% for 30 years to fund public transportation.
TRANSIT TAX IN COBB: BY THE NUMBERS
Historically, county government Special Purpose local Option Sales Tax referendums have done well in Cobb County. excluding education SPlOSTs, of the 10 SPlOST referendums held in Cobb, seven have been approved by a majority of voters. Some were approved by razor-thin margins of a couple hundred votes. Others, like the 2022 SPlOST approved in the 2020 election, won about two-thirds of the vote. in the early days, SPlOST was mainly used to fund road improvements. The 1985, 1989, 1990 and 1994 referendums focused on road projects; three out of four passed. an unsuccessful 1998 referendum was also transportation-focused, but included a monorail transit proposal from Cumberland to Town Center. One referendum in 2000 focused on parks and sidewalks, but failed at the ballot box. The 2005 SPlOST, meanwhile, mainly funded transportation and public safety projects.
By Hunter Riggall hriggall@mdjonline.com
When Lisa Cupid led Cobb County to move forward on a proposed 30-year sales tax to fund transit, the Democratic county commission chairwoman called it “a moment of transformation,” on par with the Atlanta Braves moving to Cumberland, or the construction of sewer lines which enabled the development of east and west Cobb.
When Commissioner Keli Gambrill weighed in, however, her first critique of the proposal concerned Cobb’s existing transit system.
“Folks pretty much don’t ride the buses currently,” said Gambrill, a Republican.
At that December 2023 meeting, over the objections of Republican commissioners, the board’s three-member Democratic majority set the course for raising the sales tax consumers pay by 1% for 30 years. The new revenue will fund transit.
If approved by voters, the Mobility Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (M-SPLOST) would pay for construction of 108 miles of rapid bus routes, half a dozen new transit centers and a countywide system of on-demand “microtransit” service. Voters will decide Nov. 5. Conservatives have criticized the proposed MSPLOST for its length, unprecedented in the history of Cobb SPLOST referenda, and its size, with projected revenue of $11 billion.
But Gambrill’s comment exemplified another theme around which the debate has crystallized: whether people use Cobb’s existing public transportation, and whether they would use a much-enhanced system.
Critics charge the county’s CobbLinc buses are running without passengers, a drain on taxpayers which provides little public benefit.
CobbLinc buses are not “empty,” as is sometimes said. The system recorded nearly a million trips in 2022, according to county data submitted to the federal government.
But the same data shows that, over the past decade, ridership dwindled every year, before taking a nosedive at the onset of the pandemic. Ridership is still only at 38% of pre-pandemic levels.
That decline mirrors a national trend which experts have attributed to a range of causes. Over the past decade, however, CobbLinc’s declining popularity has been steeper than that of peers around the state and nation.
As ridership has dwindled, so too has fare revenue. In 2022, just 7% of CobbLinc’s operating cost was covered by fares.
Supporters of the tax argue that misses the point of the SPLOST: a vastly enhanced system will attract more riders.
How many more riders?
Cobb did not originally plan to produce projections estimating how ridership would increase under the program. But following criticism, a state agency forced
the county to do so.
By 2050 — 25 years into the 30-year tax — the county expects an average of 40,600 rides on weekdays. That would represent a twelvefold increase over the average weekday ridership of 3,180 trips in 2022.
RIDERSHIP WOES
From 2013 to 2022, CobbLinc recorded a 73% drop in annual unlinked passenger trips, a commonly used ridership metric.
(Unlinked passenger trips refers to the number of passengers who board transit vehicles; passengers are counted each time they board.)
The trend is not unique to CobbLinc. Transit systems around the state — in Atlanta, Gwinnett County, Savannah and elsewhere — and in some of the nation’s largest cities — like Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. — have also seen declines. None of the aforementioned agencies, however, saw ridership fall as far as CobbLinc. CobbLinc’s decline persisted despite the county’s population growing by 8% over the same period.
“You’re looking at something that, because of changing demographics and technology, the demand for transit, especially in a suburban community like Cobb County, we anticipate, is going to be very low,” said Lance Lamberton, a conservative critic of the tax.
Data also indicates ridership declined even as the county increased bus service. Two metrics used to measure transit service — vehicle revenue miles and vehicle revenue hours — have both risen over that period, by 6% and 28%, respectively. CobbLinc also expanded service in 2019 by adding Sunday service for the first time.
Still, given the overall quality of Cobb’s service, low ridership shouldn’t be surprising, said Matt Stigall, a local pro-transit activist.
“How many bus stops around the county don’t have a shelter, and you’re waiting for the bus for 30 minutes or an hour?” Stigall said. “And we wonder why a lot of people aren’t taking transit.”
WHAT CAUSED IT?
Declining transit ridership has been attributed to a variety of causes, experts told the MDJ, COVID-19 chief among them.
“The pandemic upended everything,” said Greg Erhardt, a civil engineering professor at the University of Kentucky.
Drew Raessler, Cobb’s transportation director, cited the impact of COVID and believes CobbLinc has seen its low ebb.
A 2023 report from the American Public Transportation Association, a nonprofit industry group, attributed low ridership nationwide, more than anything, to “persistent telework.”
“COVID really decimated the transit industry … And it has been slow to come back,” said Candace Brakewood, a professor of civil engineering at the University of Tennessee who studies transit ridership.
A 2023 study co-authored by Brakewood found transit ridership hit a 100-year low in 2020.
U.S. Census data on commuting patterns also demonstrates COVID’s impact.
In recent years, the biggest change in how Cobb County commutes has been the rise of those with no commute at all.
From 2019 to 2022, the share of Cobb residents working from home more than doubled, according to Census estimates, climbing to 19%.
The state agency which manages the Xpress commuter bus service is planning to reduce service due to low ridership, which is still only at 30% of prepandemic levels.
RECOVERY
Nationwide, transit ridership has recovered to 79% of pre-pandemic levels, according to the APTA. Recovery has been slower in Cobb. In the 12 months preceding the pandemic, CobbLinc averaged 206,000 rides per month. In the last 12 months for which data is available (through July 2024), the system has averaged 79,000 rides per month — 38% of pre-pandemic levels. That figure, however, is up from the spring, when it was 33% of pre-pandemic levels. The Census estimates a
tiny fraction of Cobb, less than 1%, uses public transportation to commute, and that nearly all households have access to at least one vehicle. Two-thirds have more than one.
More broadly, researchers have attributed lower transit ridership to a litany of factors — rising incomes, lower gas prices, service reductions, a resurgence in bicycling, the dissemination of electric scooters and the rise of ride-sharing apps.
Erhardt spoke about the benefits transit provides, even if many residents don’t use it regularly, or at all. In many cities, it’s people who have no other option who are still using it. “Even though it’s a relatively small share of the population in a lot of places in the U.S., those are important trips to serve, in part because it enables people to work,” Erhardt said. Raessler said much of the federal funding CobbLinc gets is contingent on the system serving its most vulnerable passengers.
“A lot of the folks that utilize our system are transitdependent,” Raessler said.
“… A lot of the (federal) funding requires it, but we make sure that we’re operating a system that takes care of those that absolutely need it.”
REVENUE DECLINE As ridership drops, so does revenue. Fare revenue for CobbLinc totaled $5.9 million in 2013. By 2022, it had fallen to $1.9 million.
CobbLinc cost the county $27.6 million to operate in 2022. Of that, $13.2 million came from federal dollars, $11.5 million came from the county government and $2.9 million was generated by fares and other direct revenue.
Like ridership, fare revenue was declining preCOVID, before taking a nosedive at the pandemic’s onset.
Dwindling ridership and fare revenue can spell doom for transit systems, producing negative effects on traffic, the environment, and people who rely on transit, said Erhardt.
“Financial viability is important because well, either you have to continue to provide some level of service for the people who need it, or you throw up your hands and you say, ‘You’re out of luck.’ And if you don’t have your own car, or you can’t drive … you’re on your own,” Erhardt said.
From 2013 to 2022, CobbLinc’s operating expenses rose from $18.1 million to $26.3 million.
Raessler said the pandemic not only affected ridership, but contributed to rising expenses, such as a tighter labor market driv-
IF YOU BUILD IT, WILL THEY COME?
Should voters approve the tax, the transit system Cobb could have in a decade or two would be scarcely recognizable to the county’s system today. CobbLinc now offers nine local routes, five express routes, two circulator routes, one flex route, and paratransit
ing up wages. CobbLinc did go completely fare-free from April 2020 to January 2021. Part of the federal funding CobbLinc received early in the pandemic went toward replacing that lost revenue. The share of operating costs paid for by fares is known in transit circles as the farebox recovery ratio. Most agencies have a recovery ratio of 20-30%, said Candace Brakewood, a professor of civil engineering at the University of Tennessee who studies transit. In 2022, Cobb’s was 7%, down from 20% in 2019. Amid dwindling fare collections, CobbLinc has become more reliant on its other two funding sources — subsidy from the county general fund, and especially federal funds. In 2022, the lion’s share of funding — 48% — came from the federal government. The bulk of CobbLinc’s operating expenses are payments to Transdev, the private company which operates CobbLinc. Cobb commissioners voted 3-2 along partisan lines in August 2023 to approve a new three-year contract with Transdev, at a cost of $29.8 million for the first year.
If the M-SPLOST passes, Raessler said, the general fund subsidy will be eliminated.
If voters reject the transit tax, and federal dollars diminish, Cobb will eventually have to increase the general fund subsidy or consider cutting service, he said.
Brakewood said transit systems which scale back service can end up in a “death spiral.” Fewer vehicles and routes means worse overall service. In response, fewer people use it. Governments sometimes then increase fares to raise revenue, further alienating riders.
“You really don’t want to enter into that spiral if you can avoid it,” she said. CobbLinc hasn’t raised fares since 2011, when local one-way trips went from $2 to $2.50, and one-way express fares went from $4 to $5. Seniors, youth and paratransit passengers are eligible for reduced fares or free rides. Low fare collections, and the local and federal subsidies, are proof to critics that the transit system isn’t efficient. But Erhardt noted transportation is always subsidized one way or another, citing the huge costs of building and maintaining roads for private vehicle use. In fiscal year 2023, Cobb County’s transit operating budget was $29.7 million, just 2.6% of the
20 minutes, and enjoy signal priority at intersections.
“With BRT, it is a dedicated lane, it is a much faster trip, it is a much more reliable trip in terms of knowing exactly how long it’ll take, whether or not there’s a crash in some of the general purpose lanes,” Raessler said. “So it is a very different system than what exists today.”
Additionally, the project list includes a countywide system of “microtransit.”
The county envisions microtransit — on-demand, localized transit vehicles — as providing “curb to curb” service within defined zones. The tax would upgrade existing local routes to BRT and ART, and also add traditional local bus routes to unserved areas. BRT routes would add transit to Interstate 285, from I-20 in the south to Georgia 400 in the north. If Cobb builds a new, much revamped system, “it’s likely that people will use it,” said Brakewood, as attracting riders is all a function of speed, frequency and reliability.
Cobb’s plans to use dedicated lanes, signal priority and other methods would increase speed, she said. When it comes to frequency, the “magic number” is a vehicle that arrives every 10 minutes. That allows riders to head out on their journey without planning it around an infrequent bus schedule, Brakewood said. If Cobb can build a system that competes with driving yourself, people are likely to reconsider their travel mode.
“If you’re sitting in traffic on the highway, and you see a lane next to you, and you see a transit vehicle speed by you, well, you might be more likely to get on the bus or the train the next time,” Brakewood said.
PROJECTING
Democratic Commissioner Monique Sheffield said faster trips and a bigger network can entice new riders.
“Once we can connect some dots,” Sheffield said, “then there will be an increase in ridership.” Gambrill is skeptical ridership will increase much,
TRANSIT TAX IN COBB
Q&A: Chairwoman on the transit tax
By Hunter Riggall hriggall@mdjonline.com
The transit tax has been spearheaded by Cobb Chairwoman Lisa Cupid and her fellow Democrats on the Board of Commissioners.
The MDJ sat down with Cupid for a Q&A on the transit tax. Topics covered include the tax’s purpose, length and goals, the projects proposed, ridership and more. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Marietta Daily Journal: In a nutshell, why should Cobb citizens vote for this M-SPLOST?
Lisa Cupid: OK, well, I can share with you that I’m in a tough position in answering that question, leading on the side of advocacy versus education. But I can share with you that generally, for our SPLOST programs, they provide significant investment in our county that enable us to better serve our citizens. And I believe that if we were to look at transit investment similarly, it’s going to augment transportation services for our citizens beyond what we have today.
We’re fortunate that we’ve had a transit system operate in Cobb County for the past 30 years that has helped to get citizens through the county and throughout the region, but we know that there’s opportunity to make that existing system more efficient, as well as to add additional transit investment that will augment that experience for our citizens.
In addition to doing that, there’s opportunity for us to add additional projects, I think, that will help to improve transportation for everyone. … My phrase is “being all in,” and I look at this as being an M-SPLOST for all. Whether or not you’re taking transit or not, our goal is to provide transportation, is to improve transit options and the transportation experience for everyone here.
Now, I’ll be very specific for the rider. I am adamant about us optimizing transit here for particularly those who are dependent on transit. I was not in Cobb County government in 2011 when we had the budget cuts, but I was in the audience when we made those cuts, and I know the hurt that it has caused many of our citizens to have a service that they’ve depended on, to see it removed.
And so there’s opportunity to reestablish Cobb County as a place where everybody has access to opportunity throughout the county. And when you don’t have access, not just via roads, but through a robust transit system, you’re basically cutting off people’s opportunity to experience the same levels of opportunity and enjoyment of this county that others have, because they have a vehicle. So that’s something that’s very near and dear to me.
Also, back in 2017 there was an assessment of our riders here in the county, and it found that 80% of our riders were utilizing transit to go to work or to go to school. And in a county where we pride ourselves in being a very educated county, and a county where we perceive ourselves as being very business-friendly and economically focused and thriving, it would only make sense to ensure that there is a reliable way for people to have economic and academic advancement in this county. So transit, to me, it’s a definite tie-in to that.
And then again, looking at economic development. Economic development is largely buoyed by travel and tourism here in this county, and also by retail. And a lot of those positions have persons who are not as robustly paid as others, and who are not only having a more difficult time of living near their place of employment, but getting to their place of employment, because of traffic. And we have the opportunity to make work more proximate and accessible to them, and to make employees more accessible to our businesses, so they can have a reliable workforce.
So for me, that’s important. I can continue to go on. So those, again, are for the transit-dependent. And then I’ll go a little bit deeper into looking at demography for what I perceive transit-dependent populations are, which are always perceived to be low-income persons here in the county. I look at our young people who are looking to get to work. I think of people like my son, who just got his first job, who calls me and my husband during our work day to figure out how he’s going to get to his next day’s work or next day’s training. And we have to be creative in how he gets to work. And sometimes when we can’t take time off of work to get him there, he depends on Uber. By the time that he pays for his Uber rides, he’s barely making any money from that job. And we know that the experience of him working is more valuable than the money that he gets, and transportation costs are a cost that we can eat, as a family. But for those families that depend on those types of service-oriented jobs, they are making very tough decisions about how they’re going to pay to get to work, because they don’t have access to, not only reliable, but affordable ways to get to work. And you know, we can go from the younger end of the spectrum to the older end of
the spectrum, and look at our seniors who are approaching ages where driving is not as easy as it used to be. And where they’re having to make decisions about how they can get to things that they used to freely be able to get to, whether it’s for essential services or for recreation or just to even connect with their friends or relatives. And having a more robust transit system like the one that’s being contemplated in our program, particularly on-demand transit, I think helps to make those opportunities possible, so that they can continue to fully participate in Cobb County.
So those are just a few of the reasons. There are many others that I could list. Reducing congestion by having more people get out of their cars. The example of on-demand transit, you have more people depending on one vehicle, as opposed to everybody having their own vehicle. I also think from an environmental perspective, again, getting people out of their vehicles is something that can help reduce our carbon footprint over time.
And you know, just the practicality of it and the cost of it, Cobb County is expected to grow about 25% to 2050, a population of over a million people. And can you imagine having cars for that growth with our current road system? I just don’t think we’re going to build our way out of making congestion any less of an issue than what it is today. At some point you have to start looking at other options.
With our zoning hearings, I remember there was a day where our zoning hearings used to last all day because we were constantly building. Those days are few and far between, because most of Cobb County is built up already. But yet, people continue to move here and live here. And our young people, they’re aging, they’re driving, and they need a reliable way to get to work.
Then I think there’s a transit-choice rider. So, I lived in the Six Flags area, my husband was an attorney working in Midtown, and he would sometimes choose to take transit, whether or not we had a car that was in the shop, I think that was often the reason why he did it. But I remember having an internship when I was in law school in the Five Points area. It was quicker, less stressful and less costly for me to take transit. I didn’t have to deal with crossing I-285, and I didn’t have to pay to park once I got to work. So to me, I had a car, and I could have chosen to take it, but taking transit was a more attractive option for me, and I think that there are other reasons why transit could be a more attractive option for some people. It may not be their sole use of getting around the county and the metro region, but it could be something that they choose to do.
MDJ: I think one of the biggest concerns people have is the length. Could you briefly make the case for why 30 years makes sense, and not five or 10?
Cupid: So 30 years ago was … 1994, which perhaps for some people may have seemed like a lifetime ago. For me, it still very much feels like yesterday. And I share with you the example of some of our citizens that were transit-dependent, who were significantly impacted when we decided to shift money away from our transit system. These are people who’ve made life decisions on where they’re going to live and where they are going to work based on the network that they thought would be readily available to them.
Yesterday, even somebody who was in opposition to transit yesterday at our BOC meeting, said “transportation, or transit, is like infrastructure.” It is. We can build a house or move to an apartment and pick a job based on the road network that gets
them there. Many people have chosen to live, move, and create their life around a system that they thought would be readily available. So not having that dependency over a reasonable amount of time can create a significant amount of instability for people that utilize transit.
Also, I think when there’s opportunity to leverage federal dollars, if we are not showing that we’re committed to sustaining an asset, it makes us less attractive for investment, when there are other communities that have indicated that commitment. And why put millions and millions of dollars investing in something that you know is only going to be there for a short amount of time?
Again, if we are getting to the point where we recognize transit as infrastructure, you don’t think I’m going to put in million dollars towards a road, and then that road’s not going to be there five or six years from now. People are making life decisions on connecting from point A to point B, and it makes sense to make sure that that’s stable. Not just from an accessibility perspective, but from a funding perspective. And we truly limit ourselves to access dollars that will help sustain our system over time if we are not considering a serious time frame of maintaining that system.
MDJ: The centerpiece of the project list is bus rapid transit, arterial rapid transit, microtransit. Why go with those instead of rail, for instance?
Cupid: That’s a good question. I think a lot of it comes down to dollars, and what you can get with those dollars. So rail could be considered, but the cost of rail would have really limited our options when it came to this SPLOST. And I think one thing that we grappled with initially was, do you want to create a program that provides coverage throughout the entire county, or connection through the region? And if our focus was on connection through the region, then we could have invested money perhaps in looking at rail. But that would have limited all of the other options.
I think there was interest to, again, make sure that we are creating opportunities for people throughout Cobb, not just outside of Cobb to the region. And I think that BRT provides a balance for that, and maybe a runway to a rail investment. Because something else that’s important to consider when you think about the amount of dollars that are invested in the system is, do you have the ridership to sustain it? And if we put in BRT, it will show us whether or not that ridership is there or not before we come and invest the significant amount of monies required for rail. Now if ridership is just through the roof, and it looks as if rail could be sustained, I think then it becomes easier to justify that greater expense and try to attract those dollars once we’ve proven those numbers.
MDJ: You mentioned ridership. CobbLinc has seen that go down quite a bit over the past decade or so. It was going down before the pandemic, and then COVID hit, it really went down a lot and hasn’t recovered. How confident are you that if we build this new system that it will be widely used?
Cupid: So, I can’t necessarily agree with you — I’d have to depend on staff — of the decrease in numbers prior to the pandemic. I know oftentimes people compare 2022 to 2012, and I feel like, how can you compare a time during the pandemic from a time that followed budget cuts in 2011? So I think there’s some nuances around the time frames that (aren’t) being captured. What I can tell you is that we expanded our transit system when I came on board as a commissioner. We put in on-demand transit. … We added Route 25, I think Route 25 came from south Cobb to the east Cobb
area, and that became one of our better performing routes out of other systems, based on need and interest. And I think if we spend the time to invest in optimizing our system, that the ridership may actually be there. And so it’s difficult for me to say ridership has gone down when I’ve gotten calls and I’ve seen numbers to show that there was interest, even prior to the pandemic, on increasing transit. When we put in on-demand transit in 2014, I started to get calls from Acworth about considerations for putting in on-demand transit there. So again, it’s difficult to say that those things would have generated the interest that they did unless there was a desire for it.
Ridership decreased during the pandemic, but some areas decreased more than others, and I think it’s important to look at optimizing routes and being mindful of those that are transit-dependent. Because a lot of the routes that were better sustained were the areas where you had essential workers, people that couldn’t afford to not go to work, people who may be dependent on those hourly, service-oriented positions. And so I think that it’s important to be mindful of how we’re serving those populations as we move forward.
But again, I just think it’s hard for me to rely on data about ridership going down in the past. And to be honest, I don’t lead in my position looking at the past, I think about the future. I think about the future of Cobb County. Now, the past is a good indication sometimes of where things are for today and where things may be in the short term, but there are also a lot of factors and indicators that show that ridership could increase.
It’s important not to be shortsighted in what we’re doing, because if we always keep planning for the past, we’ll never be able to keep up and prepare for the future. And every time I get asked, “Why not five or six years?” that’s what I essentially feel like I’m being told to do. But then I’m being told that Cobb County should be a leading county. How do you lead? You lead by thinking about the future.
MDJ: Some of the other critics have said, with inflation and some of the other things going on now, it’s not a good time to add a new tax. Sales taxes are regressive in that people that are low-income, it hurts them the most. So why should that be the financial instrument?
Cupid: When has ever been a good time to raise taxes? I have never heard anyone, in the times of growth or recession of this county say, ‘This is a good time.’ The time to invest is when you are ready to seize the moment on where you’re trying to go. We’ve invested in the Braves stadium at a time when we were not servicing our counties at pre-recession levels. We did it because somebody thought about the future of what that could do for the county, and that was for something that was for a sports amenity. So now we’re talking about something that is akin to infrastructure here in the county. When is there a more sound time to do it? And based on that example, why should that have been given the green light so readily, but yet this be given the lack of support?
Your paper came behind and supported the stadium when it was being proffered, but I have never seen so many negative examples, or negative reports, about why this shouldn’t be supported. But yet the promise was seen in that 30-year investment. Why can’t the promise be seen here on something that has the ability to uplift this county, not only for those who are in need, but those who are our choice opportunities, and those businesses that want to invest here and for our region, that has the ability to move forward by being better connected? I just haven’t seen that, and I’m grappling with that. I really am.
MDJ: Will the M-SPLOST projects, if passed, improve congestion, reduce traffic?
Cupid: Now I feel like an attorney with that infamous answer: it depends. I believe getting more people out of their vehicles and utilizing a shared transportation mode helps to reduce congestion. A lot of this is going to depend on the transit riders’ response. But I believe, again, there’s no way that we’re going to be able to build enough roads to get us out of congestion, that there’s got to be different alternatives that are considered to get people throughout the county and throughout the region. I think over time, that is certainly likely. … What we would hope is that congestion wouldn’t be made much worse over time, with transit. It is certainly my hope again (that) people will see this as a viable option. Do you want to add to that?
Morgan Simmons, Cobb DOT: I think that it’s about choice, and giving people a viable choice to get out of their cars. And if you’re able to do that and allow for the option to be able to, I don’t want to say compete, but be able to be just as much efficient as you getting in the car to get to the store, get someplace, and the bus is able to do that, or that mode is able to do the same thing, then that’s the goal, to give people that choice, so that they can lean towards that option.
Hunter Riggall
Cobb Chairwoman Lisa Cupid speaks during a Q&A with the MDJ about the 30-year transit tax.
TRANSIT TAX IN COBB
Q&A: Tax opponents lay out their case
By Hunter Riggall hriggall@mdjonline.com
One of the loudest critics of the transit tax is Lance Lamberton, chairman of Cobb Taxpayers Association, an anti-tax group which historically has opposed the regular county SPLOSTs and education SPLOSTs.
The MDJ sat down for an interview with Lamberton and another M-SPLOST opponent, Jim Jess, to hear their case against the tax. Jess is chairman emeritus of Franklin Roundtable, a conservative group with roots in the Tea Party movement. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Marietta Daily Journal: Why should Cobb residents vote “no” on the M-SPLOST?
Lance Lamberton: Well, we feel that the M-SPLOST is a solution looking for a problem. That the need simply is not there. There are certain things that obviously the county needs to provide its citizens — water and fire protection and public safety, parks. … It’s actually an issue more of cost and benefit.
How much is it going to cost? We know it’s going to be $11 billion to the taxpayer over 30 years. So a lot of money. … What is the benefit that’s going to derive from that kind of an expense? We believe, based upon past, but based upon the way ridership has declined since 2013, which (the MDJ) pointed out in your article, you’re looking at something that, because of changing demographics and technology, the demand for transit, especially in a suburban community like Cobb County, we anticipate, is going to be very low.
I can give you examples of other places, like in Houston, they have a bus rapid transit there (the Silver Line) that, when it rolled out a few years ago, ridership is only 7% of what they projected it was going to be. And that’s right in the heart of downtown Houston. Now, that doesn’t mean that that’s going to happen here in Cobb, but that is sort of an indicator.
Per-capita transit peaked in 1920 at 287 trips per urban resident, and now it’s 37 trips as of 2019. The private automobile is the driver in all this. The private automobile has lifted more people out of poverty and has given more people opportunities that they didn’t have before. And we feel that this is kind of an attack upon the private automobile. The private automobile gives us independence, but (transit) proponents claim that we are dependent on the automobile, which is kind of a perverse way of looking at things. It is an engine of independence.
More poor people own automobiles now than ever before, and that’s especially true in Cobb County. … We think that maybe only 2% of the population could possibly benefit in any way from this massive, expensive expansion of transit.
Jim Jess: I’ll give you a kind of a 30,000-foot-view from my perspective here. So basically, what we’re telling people is a mobility SPLOST is a sales tax increase, and nobody needs a tax increase in this economy. And it’s bad economics. That’s the first thing. Second thing, it’s not going to solve our traffic problems, because it’s going to put more buses on the road and make things more congested. And then the other thing is, it’s going to siphon off funds from needed road projects.
I mean, Lisa (Cupid) says, “we can’t build ourselves out of this.” Well, they have put very few, if any, major road projects on the board here in Cobb County. As Lance is talking about, we don’t see the demand for transit. … And once you do this, it’s going to be hard to get any other kind of funding for major road projects that we really need in Cobb.
And I’ve spoken to the commissioners a couple times about this. I suggested you could do flyover lanes in different places. You could do access roads. You could do roundabouts. There is different things that would improve traffic flow. None of that is here. This is all about transit. This is so irresponsible from a fiscal standpoint, you can even subsidize Uber or Lyft riders from the amount of money they want to spend. But, this is not an astronomical problem they have to deal with here. I mean, Lisa, in her interview with you, talked about how there’s people that need to take transit to work. OK, how many people is that? Where is your data? I mean, she tells us stories and anecdotes about these people. Where’s the data? Let’s find out how many people really need transit and would use it. She wouldn’t do that.
MDJ: Cobb Taxpayers Association has criticized what we currently have with CobbLinc, and characterized it as a drain on county funds. Are y’all in favor of having any public transit in Cobb? Do you think we should keep the current system? Do you think we should cut it?
Lamberton: The ATL (Atlanta-region Transit Link Authority, a state-run transit provider) has cut their Xpress bus service by about 50%. The reason for that, they just did that this year is because it wasn’t sustainable. The numbers of people using it had declined so dramatically that you’re paying money for infrastructure that’s not
being utilized. That is a responsible thing to do. By the same token, we should be doing that here. By your own studies, since 2013 (CobbLinc) ridership has gone down 73%. The only two bus lines that I think are viable enough to continue is the No. 10 and the No. 30, the other routes … have so minuscule ridership that it’s scandalous to be continuing to maintain these $500,000 buses. We don’t know exactly. We can’t see offhand how many people are riding them because they’ve darkened the windows so you can’t see inside them. But I have been on the bus quite a bit since I’ve lived here, and I’ve been on just about every single line, and I can tell you, there are many times when I was the only passenger on the bus. So that’s a problem. If we could reduce the amount of public transit we have in Cobb County, we could save the taxpayers a lot of money.
Jess: When I spoke to the commissioners, one of my suggestions was, instead of spending half a million dollars on a bus, get some $50,000 vans. Get a little fleet of them if you need that. And let’s map out some routes where you can haul some people around, and these could maneuver through traffic. The maintenance and the cost of these things would be so much less. But again, this commission, the majority, they seem to have this urban vision of what they want to do with transportation. They are not focused on solutions. If they were, they would have done a survey like I talked about. They would have found out what the needs really were. Many people, not just me, have gone to the commission and opposed this plan, and frankly, the majority on the commission, they are tone-deaf. They are not listening to any opposition at all.
To respond to your question though, the organization I represent, Franklin Roundtable, we haven’t taken a position on public transportation in Cobb County. Personally, I think it’s probably needed. You have to have some. I mean, we’re subsidizing it at about $30 million a year now (CobbLinc’s current budget), but a twelvefold increase in the amount of money you’re going to spend, or whatever it is, it’s irresponsible.
The microtransit part of this that they’re talking about, that actually, to me, makes some sense, but that’s a small part of this whole thing. If they had just done that, I don’t know that our group would have opposed it. But this huge “we will build it, and they will come” approach they’ve taken, it’s irresponsible.
If they had proposed a five-year tax, I’m not sure if our group would have opposed it or not. Maybe — it would depend on how it was structured, but 30 years? … Cupid, she talks about how we need to look to the future. Well, her plan doesn’t look to the future, because the future most certainly includes self-driving cars. And if you’re going to have self-driving cars, you’re going to have to have good roads.
MDJ: If you were in charge of the county, how would you reduce congestion as Cobb continues to grow in population?
Lamberton: We have SPLOST, a major part of their budget goes towards transportation, and the more of it that goes towards transportation will better address the needs of the county. We’re talking about flyover lanes, we’re talking about roundabouts, extra lanes.
There’s a number of things that can be done to help the issue of congestion. We’re always going to have congestion. There is no panacea for that, but the fact of the matter is that getting around in the year 2024 is much easier and more conve-
nient and efficient than it has been, let’s say, 100 years ago, or even 50 years ago.
Jess: You have to allow innovative ideas to work themselves through.
Lamberton: Let the marketplace work.
Jess: I drive to Tucker twice a week. That’s where my workplace is, I work from home the other three days. So since they’ve opened it, I get on the express lane. I take the express lane down to 285 and it usually cuts my commute by 10, 15, minutes on a really good day. And then I usually take it home too. So there is one innovation that you know that was done that certainly helps traffic flow in Cobb County on the interstates.
Of course, local roads, that’s a different issue. But again, that’s where you have flyover lanes, access roads, things like that. And then, once we get to the era of selfdriving cars, that’s going to help congestion, because some of the speeds, some of the models I’ve seen, speeds would be uniform, and you would actually drive pretty close to the guy in front of you. But I don’t know, we’ll have to see how that technology works out. But really, the whole mass transit thing, that’s kind of a 19th- or 20th-century solution, if you can call it that.
MDJ: The Cobb Taxpayers Association opposed the regular county SPLOSTs as well. How is this one different? Are you opposed to all SPLOSTs, all taxes?
Lamberton: Our issue … with previous SPLOSTs, is that, yes, there was some stuff in there that was good spending that needed to be done. There was a lot of it that was wasteful, that was just thrown in there to fill up the amount of money that was being raised. So, we made a distinction between what is needed and what is wanted.
This, on the other hand, is 100% wasteful.
MDJ: Part of the argument that Cupid and others make is that this will spur economic development. What do you make of that?
Lamberton: Transit influences the location of new development, but not the amount. And that can be verified by this study, a policy analysis done by the Cato Institute. … They’re determining where the new development is going to be, not how much.
MDJ: But wouldn’t it be better for that development to be in Cobb, than in another county?
Lamberton: I’m talking about within the county.
Jess: There are plenty of economic development projects in Cobb County. What transit tends to develop are these high-density corridors. This is a suburban county. A lot of people chose to live here because they like the neighborhoods. They like the density that we already have.
In the interview you did, I think one of the Cobb County employees said, yeah, higher density is good for transit. So, what do you want to do? Do you want to do economic development, or do you want to move people? And the argument that this will move people is a ludicrous one. If the goal is economic development, then you know what? Let’s say that. Of course, they’re starting to, I guess. But the point is, what the real need is, is to relieve traffic congestion and move people. And for this small segment of people that need transit, OK, let’s figure out a way to move these people to supply … their own car, or get them a Lyft driver or a van.
MDJ: For the 3.5% of Cobb households, people that don’t have cars, or 30% of Cobb households that have one car — and if you got two people working, with kids — what should the county do, if anything, to help move those people around?
It sounds like you think an Uber voucher would be good. Jess: They could look at that again. A little more study needs to be done. … Find out what the need is.
Lamberton: The county already has voucher programs. And what they need to do is make it more well known, publicize and market it. And I think that that would address the issues of seniors and people having to go to the doctor or get to a job. But remember, we have a very robust Lyft and Uber service here in Cobb County. So once again, I think that this is a solution looking for a problem. Where is the needs that are not being met already? I think the advent of Uber and Lyft has made a huge difference in the transportation landscape. I drive for Lyft, and more than 50% of the people who are my passengers are young people who are going to minimum-wage jobs. … So where’s the need? I mean, if these people with lowincome jobs can afford to use Uber and Lyft, on occasion at least, to get to and from work, where’s the problem?
MDJ: Well, it’s a lot more expensive than someone taking the bus.
Lamberton: Right. But is it right to do a massive taxpayer subsidy to reduce the amount of money that you spend to get from point A to point B? Isn’t that responsibility in the hands of the individual to take care of? … To pay for it themselves. Now, I think maybe a Lyft or Uber voucher program might be a good idea, but to create a $2 billion microtransit infrastructure is a very irresponsible waste of money, and it’s also very inefficient. It’s not going to do very much of a good job of getting people around. And I’ll explain why. First, you’ve got to call for microtransit, then it takes you to a bus stop, then you take the bus to a location which is closest to where you ultimately want to go. Then you’ve got to contact microtransit again and take it to your final destination. When you consider all of that you have to do and the waiting times and everything else, a half-hour commute turns into two and a half hours. Who’s going to do that?
MDJ: You were critical of the county for not having any projections, and we wrote about that back in the spring. They produced some, but they’re not very detailed. Are you satisfied with those? Do you have faith in those projections?
Jess: The company (Kimley-Horn) that was doing the PR, they said to them, oh, we want you to do an analysis of ridership. And Earl Ehrhart, he pointed out how much of a conflict of interest this was. This commission, the majority, has issues with transparency, conflicts of interest, those kinds of things. … If you’re asking the taxpayers to spend $11 billion, then I want to see a detailed analysis of what those needs are that you’re going to fulfill.
Lamberton: Let’s say we’re 15 years down the road with this M-SPLOST, and we then find that it’s not doing what it was hoped it was going to be able to do. We’re locked in. We’re locked in for 30 years, no matter what we do, throwing money down the drain and hurting and hitting the pocketbooks of people, especially poor people, more than anybody else, because of the regressive nature of the tax.
MDJ: We had the T-SPLOST that was rejected in Cobb 12 years ago. Cobb has changed, Democrats are in control of the county government. Obviously not every Democrat is going to vote for the M-SPLOST, not every Republican is going to vote against it. But just given how the county has changed politically, how are y’all going about appealing to people who might be left-leaning, to defeat this?
Lamberton: I want to emphasize that we don’t consider this a partisan issue. This is not Democrat versus Republican, rich versus poor, west Cobb versus south Cobb. This is taxpayers versus the spending interests. And even though the demographics have changed a great deal since 2012, we’ve been down in south Cobb, where I live, and we’ve actually attended events where we handed out flyers. And what we discovered is that most people didn’t even know this was coming. But when we made them aware of it, they said, oh no, I’m against that.
So you can be as progressive as all get out and still be against a flagrant and wasteful expenditure of taxpayer money. And so that’s the approach that we’re taking, and we hope our message resonates with those people, as well as the more traditional conservative groups that would more than likely be voting against this.
Jess: Just about anyone I talk to, regardless of their political affiliation, when we tell this tax is for 30 years, their eyebrows go up.
Lamberton: It’s a tax on your grandchildren. Jess: It’s going to tax a whole generation. What is Cobb County going to look like in 10 years, 15 years? We don’t exactly know. I mean, you can sort of project some things, but what kind of technologies are going to be available, such as self-driving cars, at that time? So to have a 30-year tax to lock us in to a certain solution.. . in an age in which change happens rapidly, it’s not very sound governing, in my opinion.
Hunter Riggall
Lance Lamberton, chairman of the Cobb Taxpayers Association, poses with an anti-transit tax yard sign.
TRANSIT TAX IN COBB
Letters to the Editor: Cobb County readers share their opinions on the referendum
This year, the MDJ has received more than 50 Letters to the Editor concerning the transit tax referendum. Here is a sampling:
In support of the M-SPLOST referendum
DEAR EDITOR:
I am writing today in support of the Transit Referendum or M-SPLOST which will be on our November ballot. Being 72 years old, I don’t fit the typical demographic most in favor of expanding transit. I’ve come to realize, however, that this really isn’t about me, it’s for the future. I intend to vote thinking deeply about my grandchildren’s future.
My primary reason for supporting expanded transit is also perhaps not typical since it’s for environmental reasons. Climate change greatly concerns me; it’s real, the science overwhelmingly supports this and we see it every day now with some unusual climate event.
The basic science for what’s causing it and how best to respond to it isn’t complicated… we need to drastically reduce the burning of fossil fuels. If we ceased burning fossil fuels tomorrow, global temperature would stop rising tomorrow. I recognize this isn’t going to happen but I also recognize if we slow walk this for 50 years, the temperatures will keep rising for 50 years with costs I’m not sure we can even conceptualize.
And we ARE seeing more frequent and
DEAR EDITOR:
MSPLOST: Putting $11B into perspective
DEAR EDITOR:
intense extreme weather events, such as unusually heavy rainstorms, record high temperatures, hurricanes, floods, and tornadoes. Even if these things are not directly hitting you, have you noticed how much your home insurance is increasing? I was recently shocked to see that our already high, in my opinion, home insurance went up 30% in one year. When I spoke with the company, they said this is largely due to all of the weather events effects they are covering. So it affects all of us now and will continue to do so.
There are many ways to lower greenhouse gases but transportation is currently #1 …our vehicles are our greatest current contributor to global warming. Mass transit can be effective in lowering transportation emissions.
Will our MSPLOST single handedly solve the climate crisis? Obviously not, but it is a huge step WE can take HERE, in this place, and NOW. I want to be a part of that. So, I will vote for the MSPLOST. Will it cost money? Yes, but so will doing nothing.
Linda Moore Bell Mableton
MSPLOST will make Cobb County better
Big changes in public transportation are on the November 2024 ballot that will significantly enhance our community. MSPLOST will add 1% to Cobb County sales tax and provide a significant income stream for Cobb public transportation for 30 years. More importantly, it will demonstrate Cobb’s commitment to being a vibrant and caring community for all its citizens.
I ride the bus as often as I can, meeting a diverse group of people, avoiding the frustration of driving in heavy traffic, and getting exercise on the 12-minute walk to my bus stop.
Quality bus service is crucial for Cobb County. I am pleased that the buses run on time and the drivers are friendly and helpful. I would love it if the buses ran more frequently, operated more efficiently, and went to more locations. MSPLOST addresses each of these.
There are many good reasons to support MSPLOST. If more people use public transportation, it reduces traffic congestion, benefits the environment, boosts the local economy, enhances our quality of life, and prepares Cobb County for future growth.
♦ Equally important, I want to tell you about the people I ride the bus with:
♦ Hospital and university employees
♦ Employees of a middle school and a senior living center
♦ A gentleman with a brain injury who is no longer able to drive
♦ Employees of restaurants and a thrift store
♦ Two young men who have neurological challenges
♦ Teenagers who don’t have a car or a driver’s license
♦ A man whose truck is being repaired
♦ Thousands of others
Cobb’s bus system is important to many.
AAA, the American Automobile Association, estimates the average yearly cost to own and operate a vehicle in 2022 was $10,728.
Not everyone can afford that.
I want to live in a community where citizens who cannot afford a car are valued citizens, and high-quality public transportation is a vital part of that.
Some Cobb County residents cannot drive cars. It warms my heart to have a bus system that says we care about you.
Sometimes, I drive because there is no bus service to where I want to go in Cobb County.
Once, I decided to walk home rather than wait an hour for the next bus.
Buses that run more often, operate more efficiently, and go to more places. That’s what MSPLOST will do.
Rev. Jeff Jones
Unitarian Universalist Community Minister Smyrna
Don’t let short-sightness keep Cobb in the past
DEAR EDITOR:
The line I’ve heard from transit skeptics in Cobb County for years is that fixed-route transit is unfair and unhelpful to those who don’t live near the routes, and that car-based remedies like subsidized Uber and Lyft rides are more cost-effective and broadly useful. Now that the MSPLOST proposal will be on the ballot in November and include microtransit (a service connecting residents to the main transit system via targeted rides from their homes), though, the tune has changed — now one of the main concerns being voiced is that sending individual vehicles to people’s homes will be too taxing on quiet neighborhood streets. (I suppose it’s not a problem when rideshare companies do it, though…) If fixed-route transit is supposedly not enough and microtransit is apparently too much, all we’ll be left with if we take no action is enough traffic to give even Mr. Rogers road rage. Our county is projected to see strong population growth over the next decades, and if we give those new residents no choice but to bring their cars with them, the problem will only get worse. The truth is that the MSPLOST proposal is not a one-
size-fits-all solution — it offers a robust mix of transit options, each of which serves different areas and demographics in different ways for the overall benefit of our entire community. Every trip in a car that can be sufficiently substituted for by a transit trip frees up space on the road for those who (for whatever reason) don’t find themselves in a position to use transit, and every resident who finds themself well-served enough by transit to forgo owning a car entirely is a major reduction in the overall burden on our infrastructure. We can’t let short-sighted and contradictory concerns force us to settle for the carcentric model of the 20th century that’s groaning under its own weight more and more every day. We owe it to ourselves, our children, and their children to invest now in a true 21st century transportation system that can scale to meet the strong demand that exists to live in our wonderful county. MSPLOST isn’t perfect — no plan is — but it’s a far better vision than the path we’re headed down if we reject it.
Raymond Goslow Marietta
An Aug. 23 letter (“MSPLOST will make Cobb better”) made me wonder, “What else could we do with $11 billion if we didn’t plow it into a bus system with declining ridership and massive financial losses?”
Here are some possibilities (ignoring time value of money complexities):
1. Cover the operating cost of over 1 million cars for a year ($11 billion / $10,728 annual cost in 2022), or
2. Fund Cobb County’s entire operating budget for over 8 years ($11 billion / $1.276 billion 2025 budget), or
3. Provide 440 million $25 Uber rides to Cobb residents ($11 billion / $25 fare), or
4. Give every Cobb resident a check for over $14,000 ($11 billion / 776,743 residents as of July 2023), or
5. Buy a $300,000 Bentley for over 35,000 Cobb residents ($11 billion / $300,000), or
6. Construct the Northwest toll lanes on I-75 13 times ($11 billion / $834 million).
These “back of the napkin” calculations indicate that $11 billion is an extraordinary amount of money. Committing to MSPLOST would require an extremely compelling, airtight analysis — one that I certainly have not seen.
People are not willing to give up their cars
DEAR EDITOR:
Before you decide to support Cupid’s 30 year transit tax, let this soak in. ATL is cutting the Xpress service. And the reason is, lack of riders. The current system is only running at 10% utilization of available seats and only 7% of their operating cost is covered by fares. The State currently covers 38% and the Federal grants cover 55% of the operating cost.
Of the 8 Park and Ride lots Cherokee and Cobb were the least used and the lots in Cobb averaged 3 to 5 percent of the spaces occupied. The Acworth and Hickory Grove lots are scheduled to be closed in the near future.
So where are these high ridership estimates coming from the Chair and her two yes people keep spouting? Out of thin air is my guess.
And the kicker to the whole transit idea is the idea that Cobb will continue to get huge Federal and State grants to help pay for the system. What happens when those grants do not appear? You guessed it, we the taxpayer, are going to get hit with more taxes to pay for a bus system that only serves about 10% of the County.
People look for yourselves the buses currently are running empty or with less than a dozen passengers.
Years ago Cobb had the trolley line between Marietta and Atlanta, then Grey-
DEAR EDITOR:
hound ran a route down Atlanta Rd. from the Marietta Square to the downtown area and Marietta had their own bus system. They all shut down for the common reason, lack of riders. There is not a single transit system in the US that has its cost paid for by fares, each one is dependent on Federal, State and local money. If they lose either the Federal or State money they would shut down or severely cut services because local money and fares would not even come close to keeping them in operation. Marta survives because they get tax money from Fulton, Dekalb and Clayton County plus the City of Atlanta and they have been able to secure large Federal and State grants and their ridership which is over 400,000 a day. But take away the State and Federal grants and they would have to cut service. Do you really want to vote for a tax that will burden our future generation and buy into a token transit system that will not serve over 90% of our current citizens. Our State DOT has decided to build toll lanes around 285 in addition to the current existing lanes rather than to invest in transit because they know that people are not willing to give up their cars and opt to use public transportation.
Jim Smith Marietta
This ‘boodoggle’ isn’t the solution for needs-based transit
The MDJ printed Cupid’s filibuster on the Transit Tax on 08/03/2024. This was a rambling sales pitch for a terrible program with no hard information. Most of us are not against needs-based transit, but this boondoggle isn’t it.
FACT 1: MSPLOST is NOT a SPLOST. With a SPLOST fund, the money can only be spent on hard assets. This MSPLOST allows the money to be spent on soft costs. So when she says a “30 year investment in infrastructure,” that is misleading. Only $4B is to be used for capital hard asset projects. The remaining $7B will be used on funding soft costs and exponential operating losses.
FACT 2: 2024 Transit budget was $29M (lost $25M) and had less than 1M rides, or $29 per ride. 2025 Transit budget is $38M (will lose $34M) for less than 1M rides or $38 per ride, or a 35% increase with NO additional services. Imagine the exponential losses going forward with this kind of shrewd contract negotiation.
FACT 3: This MSPLOST project will only double the number of routes from 12 to 24. Their fake data projections estimate that ridership will increase by a multiple of 12…that’s a fantasy number. ALL mass transit numbers na -
tionally continue to trend lower. Some municipalities tried FREE transit and the ridership still declined.
FACT 4: When their own Transit Advisory Board recommended this be put on the ballot (6-3 vote) virtually all of the members stated that they had no faith in the DATA and they did not approve of the PROJECT LIST, but they approved it anyway to “start collecting money and hope to change it later.”
FACT 5: Only 3% of all Cobb households do not own at least 1 car and countless studies have shown that independent transportation leads to greater economic opportunity. All of this points to the reality that a Transit program that helps those in need is possible, but it is equally impossible to create a cost effective Transit program that is “all things to all people.” This plan is bad. The data is bad. The current losses are HUGE and inflating a bloated unpopular existing program is the poster child for fiscal malfeasance. We propose a public / private partnership with Transportation Network Companies like Uber and private contractors utilizing smaller vehicles holding 15 or fewer passengers so the driver does not need a CDL license.
Dana R. Hermanson Marietta
Tracy Stevenson Marietta
TRANSIT TAX IN COBB
Cobb mayors weigh in on the transit tax
By Hunter Riggall hriggall@mdjonline.com
With less than a month until Election Day, Cobb County’s mayors are split over whether they support the county’s proposed 30year transit tax.
If approved by voters on Nov. 5, Cobb County’s Mobility Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (MSPLOST) would collect $11 billion to construct 108 miles of rapid bus routes, half a dozen new transit centers and a countywide system of on-demand “microtransit” service.
The MDJ polled the mayors of Cobb’s seven cities, asking them whether or not they support the M-SPLOST, and why. Two of the county’s seven mayors say they will not support the M-SPLOST; two others voiced support. The other three did not take a firm position.
Cobb has two 1% SPLOSTs already on the books. One funds Cobb’s two school systems; the other funds the county and city governments.
The county general SPLOST is distributed to Cobb and the cities based on their population. The cities have their own projects which they selected before the SPLOST was approved, and for which they manage implementation.
While the M-SPLOST would provide new transit service, road improvements, trails and more across all seven cities, the revenue would all funnel to the county government, which would partner with cities to implement projects.
The mayors’ responses are printed below.
♦♦♦
Mayor Tommy Allegood, Acworth: It’s a quality of life choice…
the citizens of Cobb County will have the opportunity to decide if the M SPLOST will either improve or not improve their quality of life over the next 30 years by voting for or against the M SPLOST Referendum on the November 5th Election.
♦♦♦
Mayor Ollie Clemons, Austell:
I believe the future of the county with the projected growth in the region will need a first class transportation option. There are components of the M-SPLOST that will be largely beneficial to our city. However, we would want implementation more sooner than later. More importantly the micro transit piece and how it can satisfy the first and last mile without an extralong trip is something that our citizens could use for connectivity to metro Atlanta. At the end of the day it will be up to the voters.
♦♦♦
Mayor Derek Easterling, Kennesaw: It is a referendum and the people will decide, but since you’re asking... I am opposed to the M-SPLOST for several reasons. Thirty years is a very long time, and we don’t know what transportation will even look like in 10 years, let alone during the 30 years of collection. The second reason I oppose the tax is the City of Kennesaw has
limited input on the projects and the order these projects are completed. We benefit very little from the projects overall.
The vast majority of projects included for Kennesaw are not funded until years 2036-2055. These projects could be accomplished more efficiently, sooner, and with a better focus on local needs if we put it on a six-year SPLOST. What the voters of Cobb County, and particularly Kennesaw, need now is intersection improvements, safety enhancements, and pedestrian connectivity on a six-year plan, not 30 years. I am afraid if this package goes before the voters the way it is, the County will jeopardize our traditional SPLOST for each of the cities. And look at all the good we have been able to accomplish with our SPLOST money over the past fifteen years.
Mayor Michael Owens, Mableton:
I believe the Mobility Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (MSPLOST) presents a valuable opportunity to improve transit services across Cobb County. While there are still details to consider, the proposed 1-percent sales tax could provide much-needed enhancements to our infrastructure, improving mobility, increasing access to
jobs, and benefiting vulnerable and transit-dependent communities.
A key benefit of MSPLOST is the added bus route along Veterans Memorial Highway. This is a very positive step in revitalizing one of Mableton’s busiest corridors, improving transportation options, and driving economic growth. By enhancing access to jobs and creating new opportunities for businesses along this vital route, we can further support the development and success of our local economy.
I also support the inclusion of Transit Centers near WellStar Cobb Hospital and Six Flags and opportunities for development around them. These high-activity areas will serve as critical infrastructure, connecting our residents to key destinations and improving the overall efficiency and accessibility of the transit system, which is vital for a growing community like ours.
Additionally, I am supportive of the development of trails included in MSPLOST, which will offer alternative, environmentally sustainable ways for residents to travel between different parts of Mableton. These trails promote green transportation while enhancing connectivity within our community.
As we approach the elec-
tion, I encourage thoughtful consideration of MSPLOST’s potential benefits, and I look forward to seeing how these initiatives could contribute to our city’s growth and future.
♦♦♦
Mayor Steve Tumlin, Marietta: Weighing both merits and challenges, I personally do not favor this Mobility tax for the period specified at this time.
Not speaking for City of Marietta citizens or my fellow Mayors but as a registered voter. As this is before all the County and for future governing bodies, I urge Citizens to become familiar with the facts including this regressive tax and its long duration and each citizen vote their preference as to the benefit or lack thereof of such.
♦♦♦
Mayor Al Thurman, Powder Springs: As Powder Springs’ mayor, I and City Council members are supportive of transit and providing transportation services to meet the varied needs of our community, Including students, seniors, veterans and low-income residents. M-SPLOST’s passage would benefit not only our city, but the county as a whole, with both residents and visitors having a hand in funding various modes of travel, including immediate microtransit oppor -
tunities. The M-SPLOST transit program would be a valuable supplement to our existing SPLOST program, which we use for resurfacing, recreation and facility upgrades. Though the M-SPLOST is both a long-term tax and a long-term investment, waiting for funding for planned transit-supportive initiatives delays benefits of those initiatives. Our projects need upfront funding support from the county under the M-SPLOST program. Such upfront support would help our residents see both immediate and long-term transit benefits, especially as a supplement to our traditional and necessary SPLOST program.
♦♦♦
Mayor Derek Norton, Smyrna:
There have been many discussions over the last 18 to 24 months between the city and the county about the proposed 30 year MSPLOST and what it would look like for the city of Smyrna. As of today, I am still looking for more specificity about what projects Smyrna citizens would directly benefit from and the timing of those projects. Some on the list of targeted “Smyrna” projects that I have seen so far are outside the city limits. A 30 year tax increase is a huge ask of Cobb County citizens, and specificity about what they will be getting for that tax and how it will benefit them is crucial. I look forward to more information, and ultimately I encourage each individual citizen of Cobb County to educate themselves on this tax and decide if they believe it will make their lives easier/better and if it is worthy of their support.
‘Microtransit’ system set to launch in south Cobb
By Hunter Riggall hriggall@mdjonline.com
Cobb County commissioners this week approved a $2.2 million contract with a vendor to operate an ondemand “microtransit” system in south Cobb.
The microtransit pilot program will serve as a test run for a service Cobb may one day expand to the entire county.
The contract was approved 3-2 along partisan lines, with the Republican commissioners opposed.
For two years, the pilot will provide “curb-to-curb,” on-demand transit within a 22-square-mile zone, as well as connect riders to stops along CobbLinc’s fixed bus routes.
A countywide system of 14 microtransit zones is one of the main components envisioned in Cobb’s proposed 30-year, $11 billion sales tax to fund public transportation.
Voters will consider that 1% sales tax increase on Nov. 5. In addition to expanding microtransit to the entire county, the tax, known officially as the Mobility
Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (M-SPLOST), calls for 108 miles of rapid bus routes and half a dozen new transit centers.
Roughly 18% of M-SPLOST collections — about $2 billion — would be used to fund microtransit. According to plans the county previously presented, microtransit would be up and running in all Cobb cities within five years of the tax being approved, and across the entire county within 10 years.
Using smaller vehicles and on-demand service, the county sees microtransit as a way to provide transit access to less dense parts of Cobb, where it can’t justify the cost of building rapid bus lines.
“If BRT (bus rapid transit) is the tent post, the microtransit service is really the canvas that covers that tent,” Cobb Transportation Director Drew Raessler said at an informational meeting earlier this year. Microtransit has been compared to rideshare apps like Uber and Lyft, but would be publicly subsidized to offer lower prices. M-SPLOST supporters say it will enable
people without cars or the ability to drive to get to grocery stores, doctor’s appointments and other errands.
Commissioner Monique Sheffield, who represents south Cobb, thanked transportation staff for getting the pilot program, a “very critical resource,” off the ground.
“We’ve received numerous emails from people having challenges meeting their doctor’s appointments, dialysis appointments, and we all know how critical those appointments are,” she said.
Voters looking to evaluate microtransit likely won’t have much time to do so before deciding on the MSPLOST. The county’s contract with the vendor sets a provisional launch date of Oct. 15, three weeks before Election Day.
The pilot program’s area includes parts of Powder Springs and Austell.
For the pilot program, microtransit fares, like that of a bus trip on CobbLinc, will be $2.50. It will operate Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Riders wishing to connect to a bus route will be tak -
or are disabled.
en to the closest bus stop. Curb-to-curb trips within the zone will be hailed in real time using an app.
The county will contract with New York-based company Via to conduct the pilot program.
Funding for the initial twoyear period is $2.2 million. Of that, 40% will come from federal grants, 30% will come from state grants and 30% is funded by the county.
The county has the option to extend the pilot for a third year, at a cost of $1.1 million.
The microtransit pilot would replace CobbLinc’s existing FLEX service. The FLEX service operates in three smaller zones, also in south Cobb, in which there are no fixed bus lines. Riders are collected at a designated pickup point and are taken to a stop for the Route 30 bus, where they can transfer for free. Curb-to-curb service is also offered within each zone, if riders call to make a reservation.
Cobb Transportation Director Drew Raessler said at a Monday commission work session that the county will see “a few hundred thousand
dollars” in net savings by replacing FLEX with microtransit, because it is cheaper to operate and has more support from grants.
Cobb’s Republican commissioners oppose the program,
as well as the M-SPLOST.
“We had tried this before in that area ... and nobody used it,” Republican Commissioner Keli Gambrill previously said of the microtransit program.
But they remain slow. Driving from Marietta to the H.E. Holmes MARTA station, for instance, would’ve taken me 30 minutes. On the bus, it took me nearly three times as long. For transit tax opponents, that’s proof of their inefficiency. For transit tax supporters, it’s proof that we’ve underfunded transit. Understanding the bus system also means talking to folks who use it. As a reporter, you often have to approach people, introduce yourself and ask if you can interview them. This skill does not come naturally to most — including me — but over the years you get used to it.
Plus, on some of my recent trips I’ve had the company of Robin Rayne, a freelance photographer who we sometimes use. In addition to his wizardry with a lens, Robin is a natural at making people feel comfortable, so I can pester them with questions and he can take their photo.
Data shows ridership on CobbLinc has been declining. Most residents commute via car. So who rides the bus?
Government officials call them “transit-dependent” or “transit-oriented” people. One CobbLinc bus driver put it more simply: “regular, everyday people, going to work, trying to take care of their families.”
The experts say they are disproportionately low-income, nonwhite, live in population-dense corridors,
The ones I’ve talked to run the gamut in terms of age. They are going to work, or to the doctor, or to run errands. They lack a car, or it’s broken down, or their family member needs it more. They live in apartments off Delk Road, or South Cobb Drive, or Riverside Parkway.
Many are immigrants, who I unfortunately wasn’t able to communicate with. To my regret, I took French instead of Spanish in high school. All it’s gotten me are glares from Parisians when I tried to order “un croissant, s’il vous plaît,” in my ugly American accent.
The people I was able to chat with, though, had never heard of this transit tax. They’re not in the Cobb political bubble; they don’t go to town halls or open houses or Board of
Commissioners meetings. But they liked the sound of better transit.
They also would drive themselves if they could. Because despite metro Atlanta’s notorious traffic, it’s still faster and easier than taking a bus.
The two sides of this debate have argued about the tax’s length and the projects selected and the county’s messaging and more. But what it really boils down to, in my view, is one question: is this needed?
The pro-transit tax side says yes. It’s needed so that the transit-dependent can get to their jobs and feed their families and perform the labor which keeps Cobb County humming. Plus, we will keep growing and eventually run out of rightof-way to expand our roads. When that happens, the white-collar subdivision dwellers will tire of traffic,
and they will want to use bus rapid transit, too.
The anti-transit tax side disagrees, of course. Cobb is a suburban community. People move here for low taxes and low density, and we should keep it that way. Nothing matches the ease and independence of the private automobile. And while yes, some people have no other choice than to take the bus, we don’t need to pump $11 billion into a system that most residents don’t use.
Which side will win out? Beats me. A business group told me they have a poll indicating two-thirds of voters are unaware of the referendum. Hopefully that changes in the coming weeks. And hopefully our transit tax coverage (paywall-free, by the way) will help you make an informed decision.
Jennifer Hall
This map shows the area of south Cobb that the new microtransit pilot program covers.
Derek Norton Al Thurman Steve Tumlin
Michael Owens Derek Easterling Ollie Clemons Tommy Allegood
C4
general purpose lanes, can keep those incidents from happening, he said.
Usage and toll revenue
The lanes have become more popular over time.
After debuting, the Northwest Express Lanes saw 5.86 million trips in fiscal year 2019. The number of annual trips has grown steadily since then, except for fiscal 2021, when there was a dip during the pandemic.
In fiscal 2023, the latest year for which data is available, annual trips had grown to 8.32 million, a 42% increase in four years.
The cost to use the lanes has followed a similar trend.
From fiscal 2019 to fiscal 2023, the average fare rose from $1.79 to $2.65, a 48% increase.
Over that same span, the lanes have collected $67.8 million in toll revenue. Revenue in fiscal 2023 was more than double that of fiscal 2019.
Despite being the longest segment, the Northwest Express Lanes are not the busiest. That title belongs to the first-phase I-85 Express Lanes, from Chamblee Tucker Road to Old Peachtree Road, mostly in Gwinnett County. That span of roadway converted to toll lanes saw nearly 11.5 million trips and an average fare of $4.49 in FY2023.
More than 80% of respondents to the GSU study commute during rush hour. In the first year, a quarter of respondents were already using the lanes on their morning commute, and 35% used them in the evening.
Perceptions
How do residents feel about Cobb’s existing express lanes?
Respondents to the GSU study had mixed attitudes about the lanes and who they benefit. Very few — 10% — say they benefit low-income commuters, and three-quarters say they benefit highincome commuters.
Only a fifth, however, say they can’t afford to use the lanes. And a clear majority, 62%, believe the lanes are fair since they only charge those who use them.
Nearly half (46%) believe the lanes improve traffic for everyone, and another 24% are neutral on that question.
“A significant proportion of residents use the express lanes daily, the majority use it occasionally, and less than 20% never use it,” the study says. “This has led to actual declines in commute times.” While the lanes are not dominated by luxury brands, Georgia Tech’s Guensler has found evidence that on average, cars in express lanes are about 4.5 years newer.
“All of the income groups were using the facility,” he said. “It’s just that the upper income groups were using them more.”
Toll lane lovers
For many Cobb residents, the Northwest Express Lanes have been a boon for getting around town.
Though retired, Acworth Alderman Tim Richardson uses the express lanes almost every time he travels the interstate.
Richardson has had trip times cut in half sometimes. But he also likes being in separate lanes, away from the general traffic, because it makes driving simpler.
“I use them a lot of times just because I don’t want to drive in the traffic, even if it’s normal traffic on the interstate. Just having the one or two lanes makes it
Opened in 2018, the northwest Corridor express lanes are 29.7 miles of reversible lanes from akers Mill Road to Hickory Grove Road on i-75 and on i-575 to Sixes Road
A Georgia State University study published in 2022, with support from GDOT, asked people living along the Northwest Corridor about their usage and opinions of the Northwest Corridor Express Lanes.
Respondents who use lanes
Respondents
Respondents’ perception of whether their commute has improved since the lanes opened in 2018:
easier for an older person like me,” he said. When they were being built, Richardson shared some of the skepticism around the lanes. But now, he’s sold. He wishes they had been around when he was still working.
“If we had express lanes then, it could have saved me sometimes an hour, two hours a day.”
Kennesaw resident Angela King uses the lanes every time she goes to her office in Chamblee. She spends about $10-12 to go both ways. It’s well worth it, she said, since it can shave 30 minutes off her commute.
King has watched the lanes grow more popular over time. When they first opened, they were less crowded, which seemed to attract speeders. Now, there’s a bit too many cars to allow for that.
“People were crazy. I mean, I used to call it the north Cobb autobahn,” King said. “Because people would drive 90, 95 mph.”
King typically takes I-75 south, then I-85 north to get to work. But if the I-285 lanes opened tomorrow, she’d mod-
From C9
given the scant fixed-route transit proposed for east and west Cobb. For her, nothing beats the freedom of movement offered by a car. “Everybody likes their independence. They like to be able to get up and go whenever they want,” Gambrill said.
ify her route to take 285 .
“That’s all the better,” she said. “I would probably use that every day.”
Bob Hovey of Marietta is another fan.
“Sometimes you wish there’s one more exit off the express lane. And particularly, I’m talking about 75 north,” he said. “But it’s a vast improvement, and it takes those cars and that through-traffic off the general road.”
Critics
Others, however, see the lanes as the government putting a premium on roads, something that’s supposed to be a public good.
“Taxpayer dollars used to build it, and then you turn around and tax the taxpayers that built it to tax them again and use it,” said Gordon Ross of Smyrna. “… That doesn’t seem right.”
Ross agrees something needs to be done about congestion. But he’s not sure express lanes are the answer.
“My only concern is if it’ll be used enough to impact, to lighten the traffic on 285. … For cost reasons, I think
Cobb’s population is expected to continue growing and reach 914,000 people by 2050, with an equivalent increase in jobs. And the county, citing 2020 census data, notes nearly 240,000 people currently commute into Cobb from other counties. Another 200,000 workers live in Cobb and travel elsewhere to work. Some 128,000 live and work in the county.
“We receive a lot of complaints
some people just aren’t going to do it.”
Critics have also argued the state should be focusing more on transit, such as expanding rail.
GDOT’s Matthews said last year that roadways cost around $5-7 million per mile to build, while heavy rail is “in the hundreds of millions” per mile.
“Heavy rail’s just way too expensive,” he told the MDJ. State officials have also pointed to the fact that transit vehicles use the express lanes for free. When the Northwest Express Lanes opened, transit providers had to adjust schedules because they were reaching their destinations earlier.
The bus rapid transit routes envisioned in Cobb’s transit tax proposal include adding BRT on the northwest quadrant of I-285, connecting Cumberland to the Hamilton E. Holmes and Dunwoody MARTA stations.
Matthews said even if Cobb’s transit tax doesn’t pass, there will eventually be BRT on I-285.
“Our goal is to build the express lanes and allow transit
about traffic in the metro area … this is a solution to help with those traffic concerns,” Sheffield said.
Cobb was not initially required, and did not plan, to produce ridership projections ahead of the referendum.
But it did so at the request of the Atlanta-Region Transit Link Authority, a state agency. Board member Earl Ehrhart, a lobbyist and former state representative for west Cobb, asked for projections
PERCEPTION OF EXPRESS LANES
21% of respondents say they can’t afford to use them 10% of respondents say they benefit low-income commuters
62%
of respondents say the lanes are fair because they charge tolls only to those who use them
46% of respondents say the lanes improve traffic for all commuters
30% of respondents say the lanes don’t improve traffic for all commuters 24% 75% of respondents are neutral of respondents say the lanes benefit high-income commuters
service providers to use those express lanes,” he said. “… And either bring a new service plan to that corridor or expand the existing service plan.”
While transit uses the lanes for free, it will be up to local transit providers like CobbLinc or MARTA to build stations and operate buses.
For that reason, local protransit activist Matt Stigall calls the I-285 express lanes “a temporary band aid … that costs billions of dollars.”
“I would love to see additional infrastructure for the BRT lanes, but really, it’s buses using the same lanes as the cars,” said Stigall, who serves on Cobb’s Transit Advisory Board. “… And then the connection to those lanes is up to the local jurisdictions.”
Beth Warren of east Cobb said the express lanes are being built to enable more lowdensity development farther and farther out.
“To me, this just represents … a doubling down on the same kind of land use policies and development practices that have gotten us into this mess,” Warren said.
It’s communities near the
after reading the MDJ’s reporting about the county’s lack thereof.
“It just seems like a relevant piece of information that you need to have,” Ehrhart said.
The county spent nearly $23,000 to engineering firm Kimley-Horn to produce the projections. (Kimley-Horn is also running the county’s education campaign about the tax.)
interstate who pay the price in noise, air pollution and construction impacts, Warren added.
The Perimeter express lanes will displace approximately 21 residential buildings and 44 businesses, according to a draft environmental study GDOT conducted.
Warren lives near the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, and worries about the environmental impact construction will have.
“It also continues a pattern … the quality of life in your existing communities is diminished in order to provide better trip times to new developments farther out,” she said.
Orr, the ARC planner, doesn’t see express lanes as being in conflict with transit. As the metro keeps growing, the state will need to take an all-of-the-above approach.
“By the year 2050, we’re probably going to add the population equivalent of a metro Nashville to metro Atlanta. And so it really is both, transit as well as express lanes are both important for the future,” Orr said.
The projections are based on pre-pandemic ridership data for the entire metro Atlanta region. That’s the only data included in the Federal Transit Administration software which was used to generate the projections, county officials said.
Cobb estimates by 2050 — 25 years into the 30-year tax — there will be an average of 40,600 rides on weekdays. If that turns out to be accurate, it would represent a more than twelvefold increase.