The lives of many metro Atlanta citizens and visitors are spent in vehicles commuting through the hustle and bustle of the city for many hours each day. Atlanta is ranked No. 9 among cities with the worst traffic, according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle. The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority helps to ease the congestion by riding patrons around metro Atlanta. MARTA helps to cut down traffic by transporting over 400,000 people throughout the city each day.
The spike in ridership causes several problems with MARTA. The transit authority has had its share of crime and negligence from other riders on its system. Recently a few patrons had the opportunity to voice their concerns about the safety of riding MARTA. Panhandling is an issue that many of the patrons addressed.
Southwest Atlanta resident Connie Roberts is an avid rider of the MARTA system. Riding the system three days a week Roberts says she feels like her safety when it comes to riding MARTA is good however her only concern is the panhandling.
“My only concerns are the panhandlers riding the trains at various times and people sleeping on the trains,” said Roberts. MARTA has had several incidents over the past year involving panhandlers being victims of crime. On Jan. 24, 2017, a panhandler was stabbed near the Avondale station as he was asking patrons for money according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. This is one of the recent crimes that has already taken place this year.
Georgia State student and patron Eugene Semenov says that he has been riding MARTA for 10 months, 5 days a week.
“I feel safe because there are many MARTA police in the stations and on the trains so I never been a victim of any crime however, panhandling for me the worst and annoying action that is happening in the MARTA stations and trains,” said Semenov.
MARTA Lt. Aston Greene who leads the emergency preparedness unit says that the MARTA Police presence and their response time is one of the best in the nation for transit systems.
“Making sure we have a well-trained police department, a certified police department, and officers that not only have good customer service but good policing acumen’s that know when things are going to occur and can get there in time to mitigate against them,” says Lt. Greene.
“Patrons would feel a lot more safer seeing a high visibility of officers on the trains and buses at night,” says Roberts.
“We have more patrols in areas that have seen spike in crimes, more visibility of officers in bright uniforms. That gives the public confidence that we are there to make sure they are going to and from in a safe environment,” says Lt. Greene.
MARTA has been ensuring the safety of its passengers by having cameras at all its stations and trains, having phones available where patrons can call the MARTA Police and creating a See & Say app aimed at reducing crime according to Lt. Greene.
As citizens and visitors brace for the heavy Atlanta traffic, riding the MARTA system just might be one safe option.
MARTA photos
Photo Courtesy: Michael Cornell
