New Atlanta Regional Transit Board Misfiring On All Cylinders

After nine months of existence, the 18-member Atlanta Transit Planning Board has failed to live up to residents' expectations of coordinating the city's bus and rail lines into a cohesive and flowing unit. The board has hardly been able to get enough members to attend meetings to approve the minutes, let alone make major transportation strategies.

"Though the board was expected to do its work over two years, members say nine months with little action is no cause for concern. In some cases, members have been ill or had scheduling conflicts. But attendance has worsened over the past few months, including a poorly attended retreat in September that was billed as a significant brainstorming session."

"The transit board was formed last year by local political and transportation leaders brought together by the Atlanta Regional Commission, the area's chief planning agency, to tackle the region's growing traffic woes. The group is charged with developing a plan to handle the region's long-term transit needs and identify new sources of revenue to pay for projects. The board could move to start new suburb-to-suburb transit lines, expand service to outlying counties and ultimately recommend the creation of an umbrella transit agency that could run the region's buses and trains."