Now planning a trip on MARTA is at your fingertips with the new My Commute trip planner on www.itsmarta.com. With this convenient new feature, customers can enter a starting location and final destination to pull up detailed directions, maps and schedules. Customers can customize their trip based on trip times, walking distances and transfers or search for directions to popular destinations.

My Commute provides directions and schedules for MARTA and Clayton County's C-TRAN bus service, which is also operated by MARTA. The system has been designed to incorporate additional regional information in the future. As a complement to the My Commute system, MARTA is installing new neighborhood maps at all 38 rail stations. These easy to use maps highlight points of interest and provide detailed information about the immediate area to help customers reach their final destination.

It's the season for giving, and the MARTA Employees Charity Club capped off a successful year of fundraising with its annual Holiday Shop for children on December 20th and 21st. This year over 600 families were invited to MARTA headquarters to receive toys and a bike of their choice.

The Holiday Shop is one of the many ways in which MARTA's employees give back to the community each year. This year the Charity Club raised over $760,000 as part of its annual giving program, charity events and fundraisers. Through these efforts, employees donated $20,000 to the March of Dimes, $40,000 to First Tee of Atlanta, $42,200 to holiday giving programs and contributed $660,000 to over 400 charities.

The Employees Charity Club organizes fundraising efforts throughout the year, giving MARTA's 4,500 employees the opportunity to make regular contributions to a variety of charities.

Two MARTA K-9 teams, including the Authority's first K-9 capable of detecting narcotics, received new protective vests today from the organization Vest 'N Police Dog Protection (P.D.P.). The non-profit organization raises money to provide K-9 protective vests to area law enforcement agencies and has donated 11 vests to MARTA and over 100 vests to police departments throughout the country. Vest 'N P.D.P.'s Georgia representative Roz Schmitt made the presentation.

The non-profit organization was created by Susie Jean in July 2002 to raise funds to provide bulletproof/stabproof vests to Police K-9 units. Each vest is purchased by the organization for $695 to provide protection to police K-9's from the dangers they face while serving and protecting communities.

MARTA's Explosive Detection K-9 Unit was created in 1997 and has grown to include 11 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 which began in 2000. Members of MARTA's K-9 Unit participated in the 2004 Presidential Inauguration in Washington, D.C., the G-8 Summit held in Savannah in 2004, and often assist local police departments with explosive surveillance and detection.

The MARTA Police Department recently welcomed its first narcotics detection K-9 team, which graduated from the Auburn University Narcotics Canine School.

For more information on Vest 'N P.D.P. and how to support the organization, please visit www.vestnpdp.com/about.html or call 678-637-7056.

MARTA will operate using the following schedules on Monday, December 24th and Tuesday, December 25th.

On Monday, rail service will operate a regular weekday schedule. All bus routes will be adjusted to run on a Saturday schedule.

On Tuesday, both bus and rail service will operate on a Sunday schedule. North/South trains will run every 20 minutes and East/West trains will run every 15 minutes throughout the day.

Please visit www.itsmarta.com or call Customer Information at 404-848-5000 for more information on MARTA's holiday schedule.

On New Year's Eve, let MARTA do the driving to all the great festivities throughout the city. Rail service will run every 15 minutes on both the North/South and East/West lines until 2 a.m. Extra service will be added during the day to accommodate the Chick-fil-A Bowl, Peach Drop and celebrations all over town.

Due to the large crowds that are expected, customers should purchase round trip fare at the beginning of their trip to avoid long lines on the return.

Parking for less than 24 hours is free at all MARTA parking facilities. All bus service will operate on a Saturday schedule, and some routes will be re-routed for both the Chick-fil-A Bowl parade and Peach Drop.

MARTA will operate a Sunday bus and rail schedule on New Years Day, Tuesday, January 1st. Please visit www.itsmarta.com or call Customer Information at 404-848-5000 for more information on MARTA's holiday service.

Listed below are the stations most convenient to various New Year's Eve events:

Chick-fil-A Bowl
Parade 12:30 p.m.
Dome/GWCC/Philips Arena/CNN Center or Peachtree Center Station

Fanfest 2:00 p.m.
Dome/GWCC/Philips Arena/CNN Center

Football Game 7:30 p.m.
Dome/GWCC/Philips Arena/CNN Center

Buses re-routes in this area include: 1, 97, 110, 113, 186

Peach Drop
Peachtree Center Station, Five Points Station and Georgia State Station

Bus re-routes in this area include: 1, 3, 4, 9, 13, 16, 21, 42, 49, 55, 97, 110, 113, 155, 186

Widespread Panic Concert
9:00 p.m.
Philips Arena
Dome/GWCC/Philips Arena/CNN Center

Sound Tribe Sector 9 Concert
9:00 p.m.
The Tabernacle
Dome/GWCC/Philips Arena/CNN Center