 C-Tran,
Clayton County’s rapidly growing local bus service, will get
its own prime time “complete makeover” this weekend when the
3-year-old transit agency adds two new routes and updates its
current three routes to provide more efficient coverage
throughout the county and relieve over-crowding, state and
county officials announced this week.
The
makeover will make it easier for residents to connect to MARTA
and reach jobs at the Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International
Airport. The new service begins Sunday, January 16, 2005.
“This
new C-Tran will give Clayton County’s residents better service
and more opportunities to move around the county while reducing
congestion – at no additional cost,” said Clayton County
Commission Chairman Eldrin Bell. “And that means no increase
in fares.”
The
one-way fare for C-Tran is $1.50, the same level as when the
service began in October 2001. At that time, C-Tran operated two
routes – Route 501 and Route 503 – and added Route 504 and
12 more buses in early 2003.
But
Clayton continued to grow and overcrowding became an increasing
worry, said Steve Stancil, executive director of the Georgia
Regional Transportation Authority (GRTA). Under an agreement
with the county, GRTA supervises the contract with a private
operator, First Transit, which provides the drivers and
facilities for C-Tran.
“Chairman
Bell tasked us with the job of improving the service and not
raising the cost,” said Stancil. “We can do that by being
smarter about how we run these routes. We will cut back in some
areas where we have had low ridership in order to improve
service in other areas. Our objectives are to improve on-time
performance, relieve over-crowding, use the county’s buses
more efficiently and improve airport circulation.”
The
current routes will be revamped:
- Route
501 Forest Park / Justice Center will connect Jonesboro to
the airport. The airport loop will be eliminated. The buses
will run every hour, seven days a week.
- Route
503 Riverdale / Mt. Zion will be shortened and other
improvements are added to relieve overcrowding. The buses
will run every 30-60 minutes, depending on time of day,
seven days a week.
- Route
504 – Riverdale / Highway 85 / Flint River will now
connect to the airport, eliminating the need to transfer to
another route. The buses will run every 30-60 minutes,
depending on the time of day, seven days a week.
Two new routes will be added:
- Route
500 Airport Loop circles the airport providing drop-offs for
airline workers along Aviation Boulevard. The buses will run
every 45 minutes but only Monday through Friday.
- Route
502 Jonesboro / Courthouse adds a portion of Jonesboro Road
between Forest Parkway and I-285. Buses will run every hour
Monday through Friday.
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