COMMUNITY
Big plans for CobbLinc bus service
By Aleks Gilbert
agilbert@mdjonline.com
Public transit across the country has taken a hit as a result of
the coronavirus, and CobbLinc is no exception.
The county’s public bus system has had to slash service and
has waived fares during the pandemic. Long-term, however,
there are big plans for public transportation in Cobb.
They include several new routes in the southernmost part
of the county, a direct line to the world’s busiest airport and a
potential partnership with ride-sharing companies, such as Lyft
and Uber.
Every year, the county submits a wish list to the Atlanta-Region
Transit Link Authority. Projects that make the cut become
eligible for state and federal funding.
The authority has already approved the relocation, upgrade
and creation of new facilities in relation to the south Cobb,
Cumberland and Marietta transfer centers and the CobbLinc
maintenance facility in Marietta.
It has also approved sidewalk enhancements to accommodate
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people with disabilities and a transit signal priority system to reduce
time at traffic signals for transit vehicles by holding green
lights longer or shortening red lights.
The ATL authority is currently evaluating a list of projects
submitted by county transportation departments. Cobb’s list
includes the new routes and a “Transportation Networking
Companies Partnership Zone” in south Cobb that would provide
service to Austell, Powder Springs and Mableton.
New routes would connect Wellstar Cobb Hospital and
Powder Springs and Austell to the H.E. Holmes Marta Station
in west Atlanta; Acworth, downtown Kennesaw and Kennesaw
State University; the Cumberland area and Smyrna; and the
Cumberland area and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International
Airport.
The “Transportation Networking Companies Partnership
Zone,” meanwhile, was among several projects listed in CobbLinc
Forward, a document outlining potential improvements
to the county’s bus service approved by the county’s governing
board in 2019.
According to that document, Uber, Lyft and taxis are examples
of TNCs.
The department recommended the county use TNCs to
replace three existing flex zones that Cobb DOT Director Erica
Parish said were not as successful as hoped for.
Rides would be subsidized by CobbLinc as long as the starting
and ending point of a trip are within the subsidy zone, according
to CobbLinc Forward. The cost of a ride would not be more
than that of the county’s Flex service.
A rider gets off a CobbLinc bus at the Marietta Transfer Center on state Highway
120 in November 2019. - Staff
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