Why won the government in Georgia fund MARTA, the transit system in Atlanta?
Thank you for your question. Shoppers in Fulton and DeKalb counties pay a 1% sales tax to support MARTA. More than 40% of this tax is exported (paid by persons who are not residents of Fulton and DeKalb counties). According to MARTA, more than 85% of its riders are residents of Fulton and DeKalb counties. However, some of Metro Atlanta’s inner suburban counties, Gwinnett, and Clayton initially agreed to join MARTA but refused membership when voters in their respective counties voted against paying to help fund the system. The inner suburban counties have instead created their own independent bus systems; Cobb Community Transit on July 10, 1989, Gwinnett County Transit on November 5, 2001 , and C-TRAN on October 1, 2001, respectively. Since the original MARTA plan consisted of a much wider service area, some counties have representatives on the board of directors (e.g., Gwinnett and Clayton). However, only Fulton and DeKalb counties give financial support to MARTA. Eleven counties, incl
