Regional Express Bus / Arterial Road Program to Begin

Order for First Buses Authorized by GRTA Board
Atlanta - Fifty-eight express buses carrying metro Atlanta commuters could be rolling through 11 counties within a year while arterial road improvements get under way to clear the counties' high-priority traffic chokepoints, under a state-sponsored plan approved Wednesday.

The Board of Directors of the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (GRTA) today approved the purchase of 48 clean-fuel buses for the first phase of the 11-county, Regional Express Bus system. An additional 10 buses, to be operated by Gwinnett County Transit, are to be ordered in the near future. The buses will be paid for with a combination of state, county, and federal funds.

At the same time, work has been authorized to begin on some of the region's most-congested and most-needed arterial roads, including McGinnis Ferry Road, Georgia 20, East Hiram Parkway, Eagles Landing Parkway, and Perimeter Center Parkway, also using state funds.

"GRTA has made careful and judicious adjustments to the Regional Express Bus system after a thorough review of the original plan," said Governor Sonny Perdue. "These adjustments will allow the region to move forward in the most cost-efficient manner. We have also examined the Arterial Road Program and remain committed to providing state bonds for these projects along with the Regional Express Bus system. This is a cost-effective, balanced plan that will serve metropolitan Atlanta citizens and commuters well."

The substantial savings in the program were created by deciding to lease rather than construct park and ride lots, and by consolidating the planned maintenance facilities.

In the spring of 2002, 11 metropolitan Atlanta counties signed agreements with GRTA that provided for the implementation of a regional express bus system and a series of arterial road improvements in the counties. In exchange for funds from the state for the construction of the arterial road improvements, the counties are providing funds for the system. The extension of the operating period to six years will not affect the level of operating funds provided by the counties.

The 11 counties participating in the Arterial Road and Regional Express Bus Program are Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, Paulding, and Rockdale.