MARTA Reports Major Rail Ridership Surge After Changing Passenger Count Method

#wqeb973newz | Atlanta,GA-🚆📈 MARTA SAYS RAIL RIDERSHIP IS SURGING AGAIN 📈🚆

Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority says new data shows rail ridership is finally getting closer to pre-pandemic levels after a major change in how passenger counts are collected. 👀

According to MARTA, the agency reported nearly 4 MILLION rail riders in March 2026 — a major jump from the roughly 2.1 million riders reported just months earlier in December 2025. 🚉🔥

Interim CEO Jonathan Hunt says the spike is largely tied to a new counting method introduced during MARTA’s ongoing faregate transition. Officials say broken gates and fare evasion had previously caused many rides to go uncounted.

MARTA is currently using manual passenger counts while installing its new “Better Breeze” fare gates, which are designed to be taller, stronger, and harder to bypass. 🚧

Officials hope to have most of the new gates installed before the 2026 FIFA World Cup comes to Atlanta. 🌎⚽

📊 Before the pandemic, MARTA reported about 4.4 million rail riders in February 2020.

#MARTA #Atlanta #AtlantaNews #PublicTransit #MetroAtlanta #Ridership #WorldCup2026 #Transportation #GeorgiaNews #ATL #TransitNews 🚆

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