MARTA FY 2010 budget approved

The Municipal Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority's (MARTA) board of directors approved the FY 2010 Operating and Capital Budget on Monday, including the restoration of some bus and rail service that had originally been proposed for elimination.

The approved FY 2010 budget totaling $787.6 million includes a net transit operating budget of $399.1 million and a total capital budget of $388.5 million, which includes $134 million allocated for debt service. The FY 2010 budget takes effect at the beginning of July, with service, fare and internal cost containment/productivity measures taking effect at various times over the next several months.

MARTA's FY10 budget implements a number of new measures to balance its budget including a number of internal cost savings/containment recommendations; a 25 cent base fare increase and increases in pass prices; transit service modifications, including elimination of non-productive bus routes and efficiency adjustments to duplicative, overlapping service routes; and adjusting rail service frequency.

Internal cost savings/containment recommendations include the elimination of annual merit increases for all non-represented employees; an increase in medical benefit contributions for all non-represented employees; implementation of up to a 10-day furlough for non-represented employees excluding MARTA police officers and operations supervisors. In addition, the Amalgamated Transit Union local 732, which serves MARTA's represented employees, has agreed to a 15-month deferral on collective bargaining on economic matters due to the current economic conditions.

The Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) approved the reallocation of $25 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act stimulus funding to the authority for federally eligible preventive maintenance expenses. The GRTA Board approved the reallocation on June 10, 2009; Governor Sonny Perdue signed the measure on Friday, June 12 finalizing its approval. MARTA, in turn, will reallocate $25 million of the authority's capital dollars to fund transit-related projects in the MARTA service area.