MARTA outlines NextGen bus plan, FY26 budget and local projects to DeKalb commissioners

MARTA General Manager and CEO Collie Greenwood told DeKalb County commissioners on June 3 that the agency has seen a slow but steady ridership recovery, and laid out a timetable for the NextGen bus network, fiscal 2026 budgets and several DeKalb-area projects.

Greenwood said the agency discovered a technical undercount in its ridership reporting caused by failing fare-tap hardware. "It was an under reporting of actual ridership conditions, and you can see that these 2 lines are that gap is eliminated," Greenwood said, describing work to retrieve data from aging fare-gate components and the planned rollout of an automated fare-control system (AFC2) to replace older equipment.

The NextGen bus network — the agency's systemwide bus redesign — was presented as the product of extensive public engagement and is scheduled for MARTA board consideration on June 10, Greenwood said. If adopted, MARTA is targeting a launch in December 2025 and plans an extensive rider-education effort beforehand. The plan, Greenwood said, would increase access to jobs within an hour by about 21 percent and provide frequent (15-minute) service to roughly 74,000 more people.

MARTA presented its proposed fiscal 2026 operating budget of $652,000,000 and a proposed capital program of $561,000,000 for state-of-good-repair projects. Greenwood said the agency intends to prioritize safety, cleanliness and reliability; the proposed operating budget includes pay increases and pay-scale compression for MARTA police to aid recruitment and retention. On capital, Greenwood described a $1,000,000,000 program of station rehabilitation distributed across MARTA's 38 stations over multiple years.

Local project updates included: - Buford Highway ART (Arterial Rapid Transit): advancing from 30% to final design and preparing an RFP for final design; the project will use queue-jump lanes and transit-signal priority on MARTA's highest-ridership route (Route 39). - Candler Road ART: final-design consultant procurement under way, contract expected this fall. - South DeKalb and Stonecrest hubs: both reached 30% design; real-estate work progressing and design consultant procurement advancing. - Kensington Station TOD: DeKalb County Housing Authority constructing workforce and senior housing adjacent to the station; MARTA expects to re-release a Kensington redevelopment RFP in Q3. - East Lake Station: Marta Chief Capital Officer Carrie Rocha said the North Side improvements and a new elevator are complete and the project is about "75% complete" overall; remaining South Side bridge work must coordinate with CSX and is expected to be finished by the end of the coming fiscal year, she said.

Greenwood also described planning work on the I‑285/I‑85 express-lanes transit study with the Georgia Department of Transportation and earlier-stage work on Clifton Corridor design and potential terminus options near Armour Yard pending CSX right‑of‑way agreements. For South DeKalb high-capacity transit, Greenwood said the locally preferred alternative process narrowed modes to bus rapid transit (BRT) in the analysis to date.

Commissioners asked about specifics during the presentation. On the fare-tap reporting problem, Commissioner Ladina Bolton asked which locations were affected; Greenwood replied the problem had been "system wide" because many of the stations rely on decades-old circuitry. Commissioner Bolton also asked for an ETA on East Lake; Carrie Rocha said the remaining work is complex because it requires coordination with CSX and estimated completion by the end of the coming fiscal year, with the project currently about 75 percent complete.

Greenwood said MARTA will seek funding partners and grants tied to event needs such as the 2026 World Cup and described open‑payments and AFC2 as ways to make system access easier for visitors. He also highlighted MARTA's public outreach — dozens of public meetings, tabling, bus canvassing and station pop-ups — and noted a marketing award for the agency's civil‑rights bus wrap campaign.

MARTA officials did not request a DeKalb vote at the Committee of the Whole; Greenwood said MARTA's board will consider the NextGen plan on June 10 and the FY26 operating budget on June 12.

Ending: MARTA staff left commissioners with timelines for board action and implementation milestones; commissioners asked for follow-up materials (detailed public‑engagement counts and route maps) and staff committed to providing them in writing.