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/ SUMMARY OF MARTA REVIEW OF "RAPID BUSWAYS 11 PROPOSAL. As requested by Mayor Ivan Allen, Jr. on June 28, 1967, MARTA and its staff and consultants have reviewed the proposal made by the Atlanta Transit System for 11 RAPID BUSWAYS" in Atlanta. The proposal was given serious and objective consideration and study over a period of approximately five weeks. Contact was made with Atlanta Transit System personnel and additional material was obtained from them. MARTA reports three basic findings: 1. The costs to develop the busways were seriously underestimated. MARTA estimates that the costs would be three to four times the amount noted in the proposal. 2. Time schedules also were seriously underestimated. No busway could be made operational in less than 3½ years, the same time required for the East Line of rapid transit. The interim between completion of busways and completion of rail rapid transit would range from a minimum of one year to a maximum of three years. 3. The amount of busways coinciding with MARTA routes is no more than 50 percent, and quite likely would be no more than one third and require considerable expenditures which would never be recovered by MARTA. MARTA makes two recommendations : 1. Because of the high cost for very short term relief , _ implementati on of the "Rapid Busways 11 proposal should not be attempted . 2. If the public interest demands an e x perimental development of buswa y s , it is recommended that any expe r i mental busway be bui l t f i r st along MARTA ' s Ea s t - We s t Li n e . The attac hed r eport p r ovides deta il s f o r the above find ing s and recomme ndat i o ns ., - 1 - �CLOSING SUMMARY Based on MARTA's study and review of the " Rapid Busways" proposal , MARTA concludes that the implementation of the busways proposal as it now stands is not practicable e --The time required to complete a specific busways and rapid transit line (except where subway is concerned) is virtually the same. The " interim" between operational busways and operational rapid transit would be almos~ entirely consumed by the laying of tracks for rapid transit . --The total cost of busways is not $52 million as described in the proposal , but , according to MARTA engineers, more like $150 million. --While $150 million is indeed much less than the cost of rapid transit , busways so constructed would not do the job of relieving traffic as will be required for a permanent longrange solution for a city of 2 million people. - -Although there is a great differential in costs , it would be much more wasteful to spend $150 million for an inadequate interim system than to spend $350 million for permanent and eff i cient relief . MARTA ther efore : 1. Di sappr o v es of busways as a permanent solution and r ecommen ds against its i mplementation as an interim mea s u r e ; 2. Co n c l udes that the e x per imental route p r oposed b y the At l anta Tr a p s i t System as an interim soluti on would be a wa s te of p ub li c money ; 3. Recommend s that i f i t i s deemed nece ssa ry by t he Atlan ta c ity o ffici a ls to dev elop a n e x perimenta l s e ction , t h at the e xperime n ta l s ection s houl d ut ilize MARTA ' s Ea s t - We s t Line s, a nd u se them e x c l u sive l y and n ot att emp t to u se rights o f wa y wh ich wi l l n e v e r b e o f any v alu e t o MARTA . -END- �