MARTA is rolling out a major bus network overhaul and a new on‑demand rideshare service

The biggest MARTA bus system overhaul in decades is about to change how thousands of metro Atlantans get around.

Starting on April 18, the transit agency will launch its redesigned NextGen Bus Network, which will dramatically increase bus frequency on high‑demand routes while shifting low‑ridership areas to a new on‑demand service called MARTA Reach. 

“It’s the largest service change MARTA has done in decades,” MARTA’s director of technical services, Ryan Van Sickle, told 11Alive at Decatur’s Kensington station, as he and other MARTA ambassadors answered passengers’ questions. 

MARTA says the NextGen redesign more than triples the number of corridors (17) where buses arrive every 15 minutes or better, with another dozen offering buses every 20 minutes for most of the day. Service will also be more consistent, seven days a week, with weekday, weekend, and off‑peak schedules better aligned. 

“We’re going to have more consistent service throughout the week. So, most often, when you look at a bus schedule, the service that you see during the rush hour is also going to be the same level of frequency that you see during the midday, into the evening, and even on Saturdays and Sundays,” Van Sickle explained. 

To support the increased arrivals in high‑demand corridors, MARTA is discontinuing several traditional bus routes in lower‑density areas.

In their place, the agency is launching MARTA Reach, a curb‑to‑curb on‑demand service operating in 12 designated zones.

“MARTA Reach is essentially an on-demand service, kind of like an Uber pool or a ridesharing service. You’ll be able to use an app, make a phone call, or use our website and essentially request a ride that will come pick you up and take you curb to curb within a zone within 30 minutes or less,” Van Sickle said. 

And he said this van system makes reaching people on smaller neighborhood streets much easier than trying to do so with big buses. Reach passengers can get service to any drop-off point in their respective zone or get connected with another MARTA service that can take them elsewhere in the system. 

Reach service launches March 7 — more than a month before the full bus network change — and costs the same $2.50 as a standard MARTA fare. 

All vehicles will be ADA‑accessible, and riders will still receive up to four transfers within a three‑hour period, just as they can now with MARTA. 

MARTA is urging riders to check how their routes will change by using the trip‑planning tools at ItsMARTA.com/NextGen, where riders can plug in starting and ending points to see new route patterns and MARTA Reach zones. Agency staff is also holding pop‑up information sessions across the system leading up to launch day.