Like MARTA before it, Atlanta Beltline Inc. is vowing support for a “world-class, multi-modal transit network” to eventually be built across the city amidst controversy stemming from backroom decisions made last year to cut off streetcar extension funding. 

In a Monday post titled “Beltline Transit: What's Up and What's Next?”, Beltline officials insist that a “connected, accessible” transit system remains a core component of the project’s vision—and the next phase of its implementation.   

The latter part is a reference to a year-long, autonomous shuttle pilot program that will create a free, two-mile service route between the Beltline’s Southwest Trail at the Lee + White district, MARTA’s West End station, and Atlanta University Center. It’s being funded by a $1.75-million Atlanta-Region Transit Link Authority grant.

According to the Beltline’s Monday post, the driverless shuttle service is scheduled to launch in the second quarter of 2026 (between April and July) and run vehicles every 10 to 15 minutes, seven days a week. 

Example of the Karsan Autonomous e-JEST vehicles bound for Atlanta, recently unveiled in Florida. Beep

The service will start with a direct route between MARTA’s West End station and the Lee + White district. The system’s Atlanta University Center branch will be added late in the third quarter of this year, to coincide with students returning to schools for the fall semester, according to Beltline officials. 

The pilot’s goal is to assess the scalability, ridership, and overall impact of an autonomous system as a potential transit solution in Atlanta. The Beltline recently created a new position—vice president of transit innovation—and hired Chicago Transit Authority veteran Joe Iacobucci to fill it. Iacobucci counts more than 20 years of experience implementing bus, heavy rail, and emerging mobility technologies, including work that created Chicago’s first Bus Rapid Transit service. 

“Iacobucci will develop and implement the Beltline’s transit strategy,” reads the Beltline’s post, “working closely with transit partners to enhance regional connectivity and bring the Beltline transit vision to life.”

Beltline officials this week also relayed their side of what transpired during monthly Program Governance Committee meetings last year involving key city officials and MARTA and Beltline leaders. 

The committee in May decided to pause More MARTA funding for two streetcar feasibility studies—unbeknownst to some city officials, longstanding Beltline advocates, and Streetcar Extension East naysayers, as an AJC investigation found last month. The decision slammed the brakes on efforts to bring rail to the Eastside Trail.

Beltline officials maintain the decision was in line with a 2020 Intergovernmental Agreement between the city and MARTA and that all rules were followed, though changes are coming in terms of MARTA’s processes for updating its Board of Directors on project decisions made outside public forums, per Beltline leadership. 

In terms of light-rail implementation, the Beltline is following the city’s lead in reprioritizing the “starting point for light rail construction from the Eastside corridor to the Southside corridor,” per the Beltline post. 

No timelines for light-rail implementation or further action were specified. 

Transit-rich future for the Beltline's Southside Trail? Atlanta BeltLine Inc.

Earlier this month, MARTA officials released a statement insisting the paused, controversial Atlanta Streetcar East extension project—which would implement light rail transit on the most patronized Beltline section—remains a priority for the broader More MARTA Program, though funding has been nixed for now.

Beltline officials maintained this week that discussions around the reprioritization of More MARTA projects will continue this year and that the agency will “remain committed to transparency.”

“Atlanta needs enhanced transit access,” reads a Beltline summary. “Given all the complexities and challenges of our city and the times we live in, a world-class, multi-modal transit network is how this will happen.” 

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