WSB-TV 2
By Rikki Klaus
ATLANTA -- More than 50 volunteers are expected to gather at MARTA stations across the metro Monday to help first time riders navigate the rail system.
On Friday, the transit system saw a 25 percent jump on ridership on its trains after a massive fire caused an overpass bridge to collapse Thursday along Interstate 85, causing the expressway to be shut for at least several months in both directions.
The shutdown has more people looking to MARTA for their commute. Channel 2’s Rikki Klaus found out that first-time riders will have extra help to navigate the rail system Monday.
Raheem Franklin has ridden MARTA ever since he was a little boy. He’s bracing for ridership to grow, following the bridge collapse.
“As they say, MARTA is smarter,” Franklin told Klaus. “I just was trying to show a lady how to reload her Breeze card just a second ago, so it’s just about learning the schedule, learning the routes, learning how to load your cards.”
MARTA Army volunteers are helping first time users navigate the system throughout Metro Atlanta in the wake of #85Collapse pic.twitter.com/FNdVVWH4O5
— MARTA Army (@MARTAarmy) April 3, 2017
Continue reading the story on WSBTV.com.
Read about Atlanta’s transit investment and sprawl history on Streetsblog USA’s website.