As debate over transit expansion rages on throughout the Atlanta metro, in Cobb County local leaders point to existing infrastructure that already serves thousands of residents. CobbLinc, originally “Cobb Community Transit,” was established in 1989 to serve a county with a very different set of needs from its neighbors to the south. Thirty years later and it is the second largest transit system in the state, serving more than 2.75 million passengers per year and linking the county to MARTA with routes to Midtown Atlanta.
Earlier this month the Cobb County Board of Commissioners approved route changes and modifications to the county’s bus system, based on public and user input, operational efficiencies, future growth and community mobility needs. Proposed changes, which included input from users of the system, were presented to users and the public at input meetings throughout the county.
The “CobbLinc Forward” report outlines several modifications to routes that enhance travel time to key locations throughout the county, as well as its service to downtown Atlanta, including its routes to MARTA’s Arts Center Rail Station.
The report and changes were posted on CobbLinc’s web site to inform customers, and include results that will provide:
- Better service to more customers, including expanded service hours to increase options for more than 7,500 passengers.
- Faster and more reliable service to 5,300 customers.
- Increased frequency for 1,400 customers.
- Improved overall service to 83 percent of riders – an estimated 7,600 daily passengers – through increase frequency, expanded service hours, and/or faster service.
- Minimized loss of service: Only 1 percent of riders will experience a loss of service and will be more than one-quarter of a mile from fixed route service due to the changes.
- Matching service levels with demand: No new funds are required to implement the enhancements due to matching service levels with demand and reallocating resources from low ridership routes to serve more people.
- Providing Sunday service: Local Sunday service will provide transportation options for riders who rely on the service to attend church services.
- A unique ride sharing agreement with “Transportation Network Companies” such as Uber, Lyft, and taxicabs, for South Cobb County that will replace under-utilized “Flex Zones” subsidized by CobbLinc. The program will increase service for South Cobb residents and will commence after the county formulates a “Request for Proposal” that must be approved by the Board. Up to two companies will be selected to partner with the County for the program.
CobbLinc’s schedule and route modifications – and the new Northwest Express toll lanes – are already paying off for patrons. From March of 2018 to August of 2018 riders experienced between 45 percent and 65 percent improvements in express route on-time performance from Cobb to downtown Atlanta, and between Sept. 18 to March 19 the improvement ranged from 60 percent and 82 percent in on-time service.
While drivers see congestion in lanes between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. approaching Northside Drive, Roswell Road, Big Shanty and Hickory Grove, they also report smooth sailing between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m., which results in arrival time improvements of between 5 and 12 minutes ahead of schedule.
“We hope that the commuting experience of our express route customers has been enhanced with the improved travel times due to the new Express Lanes,” Andrea Foard, Cobb DOT’s Transit Division Manager told InsiderAdvantage. “And we encourage citizens to try our express bus routes to transform their daily commutes.”
