A
bus rapid transit system proposed for Cobb County would begin at Kennesaw State University and end at MARTA’s Art Center Station.
Cobb Chairman Tim Lee told the MDJ last week he is not yet certain
he would support putting the BRT on the ballot. Lee said he does not oppose a
referendum if the Board of Commissioners supports taking that step, but that he
wants more information before making a decision.
Commissioner
Bob Ott, who represents east Cobb, said the BRT
should “absolutely” be put on a referendum, the MDJ reports. Ott added he
doesn’t think east Cobb residents will support BRT, but that there may be some
support in the Cumberland area.
In
May, Cobb officials approved a $5.3 billion Cobb Comprehensive Transportation
Plan which details plans for transportation needs in the county for the next 25
years. The plan includes BRT.
Approval
of the plan allows the county to apply for grants to fund transportation
projects, Lee said at the time.
Ott said in May he made sure two more votes would
be required before a bus rapid transit plan could move forward, the MDJ
reported.
Comments
The $1 billion cost of the Cobb BRT should be paid for in
rider fees. This would be 2 dedicated
lanes 14 mile long from Cumberland Mall to Kennesaw State University. It would be smart to get a private bus
company to operate on this 14 mile route for a year to get some idea of
ridership for this route. This would
attach to a 9.3 mile route from Cumberland to MARTA Arts Center Station.
If a bus ride is $2.00, it will take 500,000,000 rides
just to pay for start-up costs. If this
bus route is typical, it will be used by 3% of the population. Cobb has about
700,000 residents, so 3% would be 21,000 riders. That’s $47,619 per rider just
to build it.
If a bus holds 50 riders, Cobb would need 420 buses and
420 bus drivers
If this bus line requires another $5.000,000 a year to
operate and maintain, If they take 2
rides each day, revenue would be based on 42,000 rides. At $2 per ride, that would raise $84,000.
Cobb should not build “dedicated lanes” for busses. Cobb
can build the 2 extra lanes for general use, but should leave the buses to the
private bus companies
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
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