Starting Monday, Gwinnett County transit officials will partner with state authorities to offer new MARTA "feeder service" routes for local commuters affected by the recent collapse of a stretch of I-85 in Atlanta.
The new commuting options will take riders from a total of six Gwinnett County Transit (GCT) and Georgia Xpress Service lots, with a media release saying the riders will be transported to MARTA stations in either Chamblee or Doraville. From there, commuters will be able to access rail service into-and-out of Atlanta.
“MARTA has room for passengers but limited parking,” said Gwinnett Department of Transportation Director Alan Chapman. “This allows our residents to take advantage of MARTA’s direct route downtown without having to find parking spaces at the stations.”
Three lots operated by GCT will serve as pick-up and drop-off locations. They are located at:
- I-985/SR 20
- I-85/Indian Trail Road
- I-85/Sugarloaf Mills (accessed via North Brown Road
Three Xpress Park & Ride lots will also be used by the feeder service. They are located at:
- Hamilton Mill
- Mall of Georgia
- I-85/Sugarloaf Mills (located at the northeast end of the mall property near Neighborhood 3 entrance)
According to the media release, five of the above locations will deliver riders to both of the aforementioned MARTA stations, with the Indian Trail lot taking riders only to the Doraville station.
State officials noted that the new feeder routes are only an addition to the modified Xpress and GCT Express routes, which continue to make trips downtown from all six Park & Ride lots. Those modified routes now travel via I-85 to I-285 and then to I-20, rather than straight down I-85 to the downtown area.
Alan Chapman with the Gwinnett Department of Transportation said commuters' choice of lot will determine what time they can utilize the MARTA feeder buses.
"The MARTA Feeder buses leave the Gwinnett and Xpress Park & Ride lots in the morning between 5:30 a.m. and 9:15 a.m. and depart the Chamblee and Doraville MARTA stations in the afternoon between 3:35 p.m. and 6:05 p.m.," he explained. "Starting Monday, a GCT “sweeper” route will run out of Chamblee at 7:00 p.m., stopping by all three GCT Park & Ride lots."
Chapman added that the longer route and travel times are reflected in the adjusted schedules.
To access the Xpress schedules, click here. For GCT schedules, click here and look under Routes and Schedules.
The release noted that GCT and Xpress are using established Express route fares due to the unexpected nature of the I-85 collapse. Feeder routes for GCT will cost either $3.75 or $5 for a one-way trip from the Park & Ride lots to the MARTA station. Feeder routes for Xpress will cost either $3 for green zone lots or $4 for blue zone lots.
Commuters are urged to load cash value onto a Breeze Card or to bring exact cash.
