Metro Atlanta

===Transit systems===
[[File:Marta plan.png|thumb|Map of the initial plan of the MARTA system from 1976]]
Atlanta has always been a rail town, and the city once had an extensive [[Streetcars in Atlanta|streetcar]] system, which also provided [[interurban]] service as far out as Marietta, {{convert|15|miles}} to the northwest.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.artery.org/TrollyBarn.htm|title=Ashby Street Trolly Barn|website=Artery.org|access-date=15 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304084141/http://www.artery.org/TrollyBarn.htm|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.helloatlanta.com/Articles/Attraction/981/Marietta_Trolley_Company_rolls_through_history.Cfm |title=Marietta Trolley Company rolls through history |publisher=HelloAtlanta.com |access-date=2009-09-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100114124848/http://www.helloatlanta.com/Articles/Attraction/981/Marietta_Trolley_Company_rolls_through_history.Cfm |archive-date=2010-01-14 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The streetcars were replaced by an extensive [[Trolleybuses in Atlanta|trolleybus system]], supplemented by buses, in the 1940s and 1950–52, and then converted to all buses in the 1950s and 1960–62. However, building a modern rapid transit system proved a difficult and drawn-out process and, compared to the original plans for a regional system, has only partially been accomplished.

[[Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority|MARTA]] operates buses and a [[subway system]] in the city of Atlanta, Fulton, Clayton and Dekalb counties, while [[Cobb Community Transit|Cobb]] and [[Gwinnett County Transit|Gwinnett]] counties operate their own independent Suburban Transit Systems that feed into MARTA. This is a result of those counties' refusal to join the MARTA system (Gwinnett voted in March 2019 to reject MARTA again<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.myajc.com/news/local-govt--politics/gwinnett-upcoming-marta-referendum-comprehensive-voter-guide/CVj5YhwsvzesGoX29o0xvL/|title=Gwinnett's MARTA referendum: a comprehensive voter's guide|author=Tyler Estep|newspaper=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution|access-date=28 February 2019|archive-date=6 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230206072736/https://www.ajc.com/news/local-govt--politics/gwinnett-upcoming-marta-referendum-comprehensive-voter-guide/CVj5YhwsvzesGoX29o0xvL/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Estep |first1=Tyler |last2=Coyne |first2=Amanda C. |title=Gwinnett's MARTA referendum has failed |url=https://www.ajc.com/news/local-govt--politics/gwinnett-marta-referendum-has-failed/fzmvZ0KPZAOzGw7rlL9NPJ/# |access-date=2024-01-08 |work=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution |language=English |issn=1539-7459}}</ref>), a situation which was originally closely related to [[white flight]] from the city.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DZEyEtmSKA8C&pg=PA53|title=The Atlanta Paradox – David L. Sojquist|access-date=2009-09-02|isbn=978-0-87154-808-5|last1=Sjoquist|first1=David L.|date=2000-05-25|publisher=Russell Sage Foundation |archive-date=2023-02-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230206072740/https://books.google.com/books?id=DZEyEtmSKA8C&pg=PA53|url-status=live}}</ref> It is the only US system in which the state does not provide any funds for operation or expansion, instead relying entirely on a 1% [[sales tax]] in its three counties. Due to the passage of a 1% sales tax in Clayton County on November 4, 2014, MARTA replaced the defunct C-Tran system bringing buses and commuter rail to the county beginning March 2015, with full bus service in 2016. The [[Atlanta Streetcar]], a {{convert|2.7|mile|adj=on}} light rail loop, connects [[Centennial Olympic Park]] and MARTA heavy rail subway to the Sweet Auburn district and points in between. [[GRTA Xpress|Xpress GA]], a suburban commuter bus service operated by the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority or GRTA, has over 32 routes running from the suburbs and exurbs to downtown Atlanta in 12 metropolitan counties.

Plans are underway for commuter rail and [[bus rapid transit]] (BRT), though these are some years away. The $20&nbsp;billion [[Northwest Corridor HOV/BRT]] project appears to conflict with other plans, such as the metro-wide [[Concept 3]] approved by the [[Transit Planning Board]], and the no-[[Jersey barrier|barrier]] [[High-occupancy toll lane|HOT lanes]] on I‑85 in Gwinnett. MARTA is also considering a BRT line of its own to the east.

The first [[commuter rail]] line would run south of the city, eventually extended to [[Lovejoy, Georgia|Lovejoy]] and possibly [[Hampton, Georgia|Hampton]] near [[Atlanta Motor Speedway]]. The "[[Brain Train]]" would likely be the second route, connecting the [[University of Georgia]] in Athens to [[Emory University]] and [[Georgia Tech]] in Atlanta.

As planned, all commuter trains would arrive at the [[Atlanta Multimodal Passenger Terminal]] (MMPT), the long-delayed facility just across [[Peachtree Street]] from the [[Five Points (MARTA station)|Five Points MARTA station]], where all of its lines meet. Planning for the system and its extension as [[intercity rail]] across the state are the responsibility of the [[Georgia Rail Passenger Authority]].

Another proposed plan that has received very strong [[grassroots]] support in recent years is the [[BeltLine]], a [[Green belt|greenbelt]] and transit system that takes advantage of existing and unused rail tracks to set up a {{convert|22|mile|adj=on}} [[light rail]] or [[streetcar]] circuit around the core of Atlanta, as well as establishing more [[Open space reserve|green space]] and footpaths for pedestrians and bicyclists.