MARTA has issued over 100,000 Breeze Cards - an important milestone in the conversion to its new smart-card based fare collection system. MARTA began distributing free Breeze cards to customers at the end of September.

Now is the time to get your free Breeze Card. They have been designed to fit the needs of all customers and there are a number of ways to get one today! You can order a free Breeze Card at www.breezecard.com or by picking up a form from an in-station customer service representative or at any MARTA RideStore. Free Breeze Cards will be available until spring 2007. You can also purchase a card at any rail station vending machine for $5.

Breeze Cards can be loaded with up to $100 in stored value, multiple trips or monthly, weekly and weekend passes. The cards are designed to last for four years and are eligible for balance protection — a program through which registered customers can recover the value loaded on to their card if it is lost or stolen.

MARTA customers who receive a pass through their employer or school will be issued a Breeze Card through those programs in the spring, and do not need to order or purchase a Breeze Card at this time.

For more information about Breeze, please visit www.breezecard.com or call 404-848-5000.

Even more people are finding that MARTA is the best way to travel -- choosing transit over traffic congestion and high gas prices. Recent data shows that rail ridership rose significantly from July to September of this year with a 10 percent increase over the same period last year. Bus ridership was also up almost 1.4 percent.

MARTA is working hard to attract even more customers through an extensive service improvement plan that includes both immediate improvements to customer service and cleanliness and a long term capital program that will give customers a virtually new transit system by 2008. In the next few years, customers will begin to see the results of the numerous projects underway to improve the system including the renovation of MARTA's oldest rail cars and all 48 miles of track, upgrades to station lighting and security, and the implementation of improved bus and rail service. MARTA will continue to work with our customers to look for ways to design and deliver service that will meet their needs and those of the community we serve.

A number of MARTA's bus routes and the Proctor Creek (Bankhead) Rail Line are being modified this month to improve overall service and on time performance. Many of these changes come as a result of a mid-year service budget adjustment proposed by MARTA staff and approved by the Board of Directors in November that restores a significant percentage of service that was cut in recent years. For information about the changes going into effect on Saturday, December 23, 2006, please visit www.itsmarta.com or call 404/848-5000.

MARTA is the best way to get to all Atlanta area events this New Year's weekend, with 24 hour rail service on New Year's Eve and extra service running throughout the weekend to accommodate the annual Chick-fil-A Bowl, Peach Drop and celebrations all over town.

On Saturday, December 30th, trains will run every 15 minutes on the North/South line and every 10 minutes on the East/West line before and after the Chick-fil-A Bowl. On Sunday, December 31st (New Year's Eve) trains will run every 15 minutes on both lines until 2:00 a.m. North Springs trains will then turn around at Lindbergh Station and rail service will run every 20 minutes the remainder of the night.

Customers should purchase round trip fare at the beginning of their trip to avoid waiting in long lines after the various events. Parking for less than 24 hours is free at all MARTA parking facilities. Please visit www.itsmarta.com or call Customer Information at 404-848-5000 for more information on MARTA's holiday weekend service.

MARTA's Employee Charity Club provided gifts to over 1,500 children from 8 different countries during its annual Holiday Shop at the MARTA Headquarters building. Children received gifts from the shop and each family was given a bicycle. Families also received a Wal-Mart gift card that can be used to purchase select items for the family.

The MARTA Employee Charity Club raised approximately $650,000 this year from employee donations and volunteer efforts and is a major contributor to charitable efforts in the metro Atlanta area. Each year the Charity Club assists families during the holiday season with Thanksgiving meals and the Holiday Shop for children.

MARTA conducted a Full Scale Emergency Preparedness Drill at Hamilton E. Holmes Rail Station on Sunday, December 10, 2006 for MARTA police, staff and area emergency responders to practice response and recovery operations during a simulated emergency situation.

The drill was held in coordination with the Atlanta Police Department and the Fulton County Emergency Management Agency to establish local response measures and prepare a successful emergency plan. The simulation utilized a scripted scenario, actors and action occurring in real time to encourage a realistic response from the agencies.

Since 2002, MARTA has staged drills to prepare the Authority to protect and assist customers during an emergency incident. The Federal Transit Administration requires that transit agencies conduct these exercises to evaluate response capabilities in the event of a terrorist attack or emergency situation.

The MARTA Board of Directors elected officers for the 2007 calendar year during their regular monthly Board meeting on December 4th. The 2006 Board officers were all reelected to their positions for another one-year term. They include:

MARTA's Board of Directors is composed of eighteen members representing the City of Atlanta, DeKalb, Fulton, Clayton and Gwinnett Counties, and the State of Georgia and is responsible for setting policy and making decisions on for the Authority ranging from finance to customer service.