Perhaps you’ve seen the new MARTA shuttle buses zipping around town with painted slogans on the sides reading, “The City Has Never Been Closer to Your Door.”

If you haven’t, MARTA hopes you will soon.

The transit agency is ramping up outreach efforts for its new on-demand rideshare program, MARTA Reach, that launched in three specific areas around Atlanta earlier this month. Three pop-up events will aim to spread the word about MARTA Reach this week at stations from Decatur to the Westside.

The app-based service, a partnership between MARTA and Georgia Tech, will run for six months on a pilot basis, ending August 31.

The goal is to test how MARTA’s on-demand shuttles can help link customers to larger bus and rail networks from their homes, providing first and last-mile connectivity. (Reviews we’ve personally heard have been positive so far; the program's App Store rating is 4.5 of 5 stars, based on eight reviews, with one patron claiming, "This app changed my life.")

Courtesy of MARTA

MARTA Reach operates from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays, and rides cost $2.50, the same as regular MARTA fare.  

The app guides users to designated pick-up and drop-off stops near their homes, and in true rideshare fashion, other passengers might be picked up en route to train stations. MARTA says the average wait time for a shuttle is about 15 minutes—depending on traffic, road closures, and time of day—which minimizes waiting and walking overall, per the agency.

For now, MARTA Reach operates in three “zones” where MARTA is studying how the program works in heavily residential, mixed-use, and industrial settings.

The initial scope of MARTA's program is being piloted in, from left, West Atlanta (residential), Belvedere (mixed-use), and Gillem Logistics Center (industrial) zones. More zones are being added this month. Courtesy of MARTA

Pop-up events that sound like pep rallies for the MARTA Reach program will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. this week at three MARTA stations, featuring live music, refreshments, and “giveaways including MARTA swag, Breeze cards, and retailer gift cards,” per MARTA officials.

Those are East Lake station (Tuesday), H.E. Holmes station (Wednesday), and Avondale station (Thursday).

Find more info about MARTA Reach here, or contact MARTA with questions about the service via this email address: Reach@itsmarta.com. 

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