FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 14, 2005

Contact William Mecke
 (404) 463-3011

C-TRAN GETS ITS OWN “COMPLETE MAKEOVER”

JONESBORO -  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.

“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.

For more information about specific route schedules please contact the
C-TRAN customer service center at 770-472-8800.