Turn Up the Air

MARTA is "Smarta" as the old slogan says. But is it really if Atlanta's main publication public transportation does not add new train cars during rush hour travel and consumers are forced to wait at times for the next train?

Economic woes are gripping consumers' wallets. People are turning to MARTA -- and other forms of transportation -- to save on gas costs and they are jamming the trains in Atlanta's sweltering temperatures.

Total ridership in May jumped 13 percent compared with the year earlier, according to MARTA spokeswoman Cara Hodgson. 

While MARTA is lining its own pockets after years of struggling to attract riders, can they at least turn up the air conditioning?

MARTA Car Rage

Apparently MARTA causes "car rage" just like driving around metro Atlanta can.

Southbound MARTA train delays, brought about by a medical emergency heading Southbound from the Lindbergh station on Monday, pushed people to the outer limits of their tempers.

Commuters were jammed on the platform at Midtown. Some had waited for more than a half hour. MARTA announcers constantly updated passengers, citing the medical situation and continuously provided information to riders.

Though MARTA handled the situation well, some of its riders did not. When the first train arrived, people pushed into an already packed train, even though a second was immediately behind.

At Five Points, as people changed trains, the car rage ensued. One passenger began yelling at people, demanding they wait until everyone gets off the train. Then two passengers started cussing each other out. It's the type of behavior we've come to know on highways and roads in metro Atlanta, not the kind you would expect to see on a MARTA car.

Then, another flare up. Just after arriving to the Eastbound platform, riders got a whiff of more yelling. This time, it was just one man holding a bottle in a bag screaming at the top of his lungs, "We're all going to hell."

Maybe so, though we all did our best to ignore this unfortunate and seemingly crazy character.

Unfortunate for the rest of everyone: the rage of rush hour can sit with us long after exiting the last car.