“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.”
The three GCT Park & Ride lots are located at I-985/SR 20, I-85/Indian Trail Road, and I-85/Sugarloaf Mills (accessed via North Brown Road). The three Xpress Park & Ride lots are located at Hamilton Mill, Mall of Georgia, and I-85/Sugarloaf Mills (located at the northeast end of the mall property near Neighborhood 3 entrance).
Depending on which lot you choose, the MARTA Feeder buses leave the Gwinnett and Xpress Park & Ride lots in the morning between 5:30am and 9:15am and depart the Chamblee and Doraville MARTA stations in the afternoon between 3:35pm and 6:05pm. Starting Monday, a GCT “sweeper” route will run out of Chamblee at 7:00pm, stopping by all three GCT Park & Ride lots.
The MARTA Feeder service began this week in response to the fire that brought down a section of I-85 on March 30. The Feeder routes are in addition to the modified Xpress and GCT Express routes, which continue to make trips downtown from all six Park & Ride lots. Instead of trips straight down I-85 to downtown, the regular Express routes now travel via I-85 to I-285 and then to I-20. The longer route and travel times are reflected in the adjusted schedules. To access the Xpress schedules, visit www.xpressga.com/routes. For GCT schedules, visit www.gctransit.com and look under Routes and Schedules.
“We are happy to partner with GCT and MARTA to provide a rapid response to the commuting needs of Gwinnett’s citizens in response to this unprecedented emergency,” said GRTA/SRTA Executive Director
Christopher Tomlinson. “Our long-standing partnerships made it possible for us to establish this additional service so quickly.”
Feeder routes running out of six Gwinnett and Xpress Park & Ride lots deliver riders to both MARTA stations to prevent overcrowding at either station. The Indian Trail Feeder delivers riders to the Doraville MARTA station only.
Due to the unexpected nature of this event, GCT and Xpress are using established Express route fares. 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. The bus drivers have no way to make change. Visit www.breezecard.com for more information about the Breeze Card, which is a regional fare system.
Regardless of which amount commuters pay to board the MARTA Feeders in Gwinnett, unless they have a Breeze card, they will have to pay an additional amount to ride MARTA. If the commuter has a Breeze card, the transfer will not require an additional charge. All commuters will need a Breeze card to access the train platforms.
Breeze cards are available for sale online and at all MARTA stations and at the GCT Customer Service Center, located at 3525 Mall Boulevard, Suite 5C, Duluth.
GCT and Xpress buses will drop off and pick up riders at the corner of New Peachtree Road and Central Avenue near the Doraville MARTA station due to limited access to the station. Riders to the Chamblee MARTA station will be dropped off and picked up at the West Bus Loop.
“We’re all working to provide commuters additional options,” Chapman said. “The partnerships Gwinnett County has with the Georgia DOT, Xpress and MARTA serve the public on a regular basis and especially during times like this.”
Gwinnett County and Xpress urge residents to call the GCT Customer Service line at 770.822.5010 or Xpress Customer Service line at 1.844.9777 or visit their websites at www.gctransit.com and www.xpressga.com to help plan their commute. For some, telecommuting and flex scheduling provide additional options to avoid the peak travel times into Atlanta.
Additional information is available from each of these agencies:
· For GCT route information, click here.
· For Xpress route information, click here.
· For GCT Facebook page, click here.
· For Georgia DOT status of repairs, road closures, and alternate routes, click here.
· For Georgia DOT Facebook page, click here.
· For Georgia Commute transit options, click here.
