We are pleased to introduce our new electronic newsletter – the MARTA Monthly. It has been designed to keep you up to date on news, improvements and initiatives as we continue to "build a better way" for our customers and our community.

This is an exciting time for MARTA. Numerous projects are underway that will improve service delivery, the customer experience, and regional transit coordination. This newsletter will help us share important information about project developments and system enhancements as well as solicit feedback as we work to build a virtually new transit system over the next few years.

We hope that you will share the MARTA Monthly with others who might be interested and that you will let us know of topics you might like to see in future issues. Please contact newsletter@itsmarta.com with any comments or questions about the newsletter.

The first tangible result of MARTA's comprehensive capital improvement plan is the smart-card based Breeze fare collection system.

Breeze is currently being installed in MARTA rail stations and vehicles. This new technology, which replaces aging and unreliable token machines, turnstile gates, and bus fare boxes, with new cutting-edge fare collection equipment will greatly improve service to our customers, assist the Authority with service planning, and pave the way for seamless travel between area transit systems. Once installed, customers will use smart cards imbedded with a microchip to tap a target on the fare gate or fare box to enter and exit the system. Breeze will eliminate the need for tokens and paper transfers, and when fully implemented, will provide customers with a variety of convenient payment options.

MARTA continues to work with other regional transit agencies to offer customers the convenience of using only one card between systems. Last month, an agreement was reached with Cobb Community Transit (CCT) to install the new equipment on their buses and continue free transfers between the systems. At this time, we are hopeful that similar agreements will be reached with all of the systems that currently link into MARTA.

Fifteen stations have been installed with the new equipment to date including Airport, Five Points, and Peachtree Center. Installation is expected to be complete in all rail stations and on all vehicles by late spring. In conjunction with the installation, MARTA has begun an extensive customer education campaign that will continue well into 2007.

For more information about Breeze, please visit www.breezecard.com. MARTA Speaker's Bureau representatives are also available to speak to community organizations about this exciting new program — contact 404-848-5528 or speaker@itsmarta.com.

MARTA is once again providing real-time train arrival information on electronic signs in all 38 rail stations. The up-to-the-minute countdown of when the next train will arrive at each station and which direction it is going relies on a high-tech system that tracks each train, communicating its movements and locations to a software program that in turn broadcasts to the electronic signs.

The "next train" system was initially implemented last spring but experienced some technical problems, resulting in a temporary suspension of the program last fall. Software upgrades have now been made that will ensure trains are accurately tracked and that reliable information is transmitted to customers via the station signs.

The electronic station signs are operated at no cost to MARTA by Atlanta-based SignPost Networks and provide customers with information on sports, news, and weather as well as service-related messages. As part of the lease agreement with SignPost, MARTA receives $1.65 million over the life of the contract from ads displayed on the signs.

MARTA's effort to rebuild 238 of our oldest rail cars recently reached an important milestone. The first two renovated cars to return from Alstom, the company contracted to do the work, entered revenue service last month.

The cars are being stripped down to the shell and completely rebuilt – improving reliability and adding 15 years of life to each car at approximately half the cost of acquiring new vehicles. Changes being made to the cars include:

• Easy to clean rubberized floors that replace existing carpet
• Improved interior lighting and features such as stainless steel hand-grabs and new seats
• Upgrades to door and climate control systems
• New communications systems
• New brakes and propulsion systems

The current schedule anticipates 2 to 8 rehabilitated cars returning to service each month until all 238 are back serving MARTA's customers.

MARTA has received the 2006 Clean Air Excellence Award in Community Development from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Authority was recognized for its Transit Oriented Development (TOD) program, which transforms property around stations into live, work and play communities that help reduce fuel use and air pollution, mitigate traffic congestion, and improve the quality of life in the metro Atlanta region.

MARTA is considered a pioneer in Transit Oriented Development and has served as a model for transit systems throughout the nation. The program has helped to grow the Authority's operating revenues through lease arrangements as well as through increased ridership. The Clean Air Excellence Awards Program, sponsored by the EPA's Office of Air and Radiation, recognizes individuals and organizations that contribute to improving air quality.

MARTA partners with many organizations throughout the region to provide patrons with convenient transportation to summer events. One of the longest running and most successful of these is the Atlanta Braves Shuttle, which has carried hundreds of thousands of Braves fans to the games each year. In order to continue to provide this popular service as well as shuttle service to the HiFi Buys Amphitheater, an additional surcharge of $1 each way was added this year to cover operating costs.

Customers with a valid TransCard, limited use Breeze card, or transfer ticket will be asked to pay an additional $1 before boarding either of the shuttles. Customers without any type of valid fare media will be charged $2.75. For Braves games, one way tickets can be purchased at the sales booth at Underground Atlanta.

MARTA is also running express shuttle bus service from the H. E. Holmes rail station to Six Flags. The service will operate only on the days the park is open from approximately one hour before the park opens until approximately one hour after closing. The route runs every 40 minutes throughout the days it is operating.

As the route goes outside of MARTA's regular service area, an extra $.75 is charged in addition to the regular $1.75 one way fare. Customers can use a transfer, token, or valid TransCard and pay the additional $.75, or pay $2.50 upon boarding. This is consistent with the fare charged in prior years, there has been no increase.

For more information on the shuttles or other MARTA service options, please visit www.itsmarta.com or call customer service at 404-848-5000.

MARTA will host a series of public hearings for the proposed FY07 Operating and Capital Budget on April 19 and 20, 2006, to gather input from customers and stakeholders. Staff will be available to provide information and answer questions for one hour prior to the start of the official public hearing.

The meetings will be held at the following locations. All hearings start at 7:00 p.m.

Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Maloof Auditorium (Downtown Decatur)
1300 Commerce Drive
Decatur, GA 30030
One block west of MARTA's Decatur Station.

Wednesday, April 19, 2006
North Fulton Service Center
7741 Roswell Road
Sandy Springs, 30350
Bus route 87 from the North Springs Rail Station.

Thursday, April 20, 2006
Atlanta City Hall
55 Trinity Ave.
Atlanta, Georgia 30303
Routes 10, 21, 49, 55, 97 from Five Points Station.
Special Bus Shuttle will be provided from the Five Points Station.

Thursday, April 20, 2006
South Fulton Service Center
5600 Stonewall Tell Road
College Park, 30349
Bus route 180 from the College Park Rail Station.

MARTA's Police K-9 Unit has received protective vests donated by the non-profit organization Vest 'N Police Dog Protection (P.D.P.), which raises money to provide canine protective vests to area law enforcement agencies.

The non-profit organization Vest 'N P.D.P. was created by Susie Jean in July 2002 to raise funds to provide bulletproof/stabproof vests to Police K-9 units to protect these animals from the dangers they face while serving and protecting communities. Through their work, Vest 'N P.D.P has outfitted 39 police dogs with protective vests which cost $695 each.

MARTA's Explosive Detection K-9 Unit was created in 1997 and has grown to include nine teams each consisting of an officer and handler. The teams are federally trained and certified in the detection of explosive chemicals and compounds. MARTA was the first transit agency in the nation to receive TSA-certified dogs in a pilot program begun in 2000. Members of MARTA's K-9 Unit often assist local police departments with explosive surveillance and detection and have also provided protection for several high-profile national events.

For more information on Vest 'N P.D.P. and how to support the organization, please visit www.vestnpdp.com/about.html. For more information on the MARTA police department, please visit the agency's web page at www.itsmarta.com/police.

A standing room only audience of past and present MARTA Board members, MARTA staff and community leaders filled the Board room for MARTA's first African American Heritage Program, "MARTA in the Civil Rights Movement." The program, coordinated by MARTA Board member Dr. Marie R. Metze, was held Tuesday, February 28, 2006 at the MARTA headquarters on Lindbergh Drive in Northeast Atlanta.

The audience of distinguished guests sensed that this was no ordinary Black History program as saxophonist and MARTA staffer Wesley Jackson, Jr. played "How Great Thou Art" and past MARTA Board Chair Laura Lawson brought the room to its feet with her acappella rendition of "Who Holds Tomorrow."

The program was highlighted by three oral presentations:

Author and retired Clark Atlanta University Professor Dr. Pearlie Craft Dove walked the audience through Atlanta's history to 1940, emphasizing the development of the Washington Park Community. Developed by Heman Perry, it foreshadowed intown developments like Atlantic Station. A self-contained community, it included residential and commercial properties, recreational facilities, cultural activities at nearby Atlanta University Center colleges, and the new Booker T. Washington High School with its legendary Principal and Educator C. L. Harper. Mr. Harper's students included Q. V. Williamson, Atlanta's first African American Alderman, and Leroy Johnson, the first African American elected to the Georgia State Senate.

Dr. Clarissa Myrick-Harris narrated Atlanta history from 1940 through the early 1970s, emphasizing the growing political awareness of the African American community through a long line of charismatic leaders, including John Wesley Dobbs, A. T. Walden, C. A. Scott, Lyndon Wade, Morris Dillard, Ben Brown and Julian Bond.

Dr. Marie R. Metze told the story of MARTA's involvement in the Civil Rights Movement, noting the mobilization of the African American community, the creation of a leadership council to lead the fight to pass the referendum that created MARTA. She acknowledged many of those who fought for, supported and led MARTA, including L. D. Milton, Jesse Hill, Jr., The Honorable Maynard H. Jackson, John C. Calhoun, Ella Gaines Yates, Ella Mae Brayboy and Reba Greenwood.

In closing remarks, MARTA's Acting General Manager, Richard McCrillis, said, "While we all know about the history MARTA has played in the transit world, this week was a chance to celebrate the role MARTA played in shaping race, class and community in our city." MARTA Board Chair Edmund Wall thanked Dr. Metze for a job well done.