MARTA's MyCommute Online Trip Planning Service

If you have lived in Metro Atlanta for more than five years or so, you have probably used MARTA, the city's public transit system. In the past, there have been quite a few complaints regarding the ease (or lack thereof) involved in navigating one's way through the system. One of the criticisms has been that it is difficult to determine which buses or trains will help one arrive at his/her destination at a particular time. Though the rail line only travels in four major directions (North, South, East, and West), MARTA's bus system snakes out into Atlanta's metro areas in several different directions. Thus, attempting to locate the correct bus route for one's trip can also be a bit daunting. This is where the MARTA MyCommute Online Scheduler comes in.

How It Works

Upon logging onto MARTA's home site (www.itsmarta.com), the user is brought immediately to the MyCommute Service located on the left side of the screen. The service works in three basic steps:

Step One: Departure Destination
Step Two: Trip Selection
Step Three: Trip Details

There are two fields into which to enter your departure location, and your desired arrival location. The great thing about these fields is that it allows one to enter the name of businesses as well as specific address information. Based on the information entered, the system will search through a list of potential addresses and venues; the user can then scroll through the drop-down list and select the appropriate location.

Moreover, the system offers multiple search options. For instance, a passenger may choose to sort the results by travel time, actual walking distance, and even the number of transfers required for the entire trip. Once all criteria have been selected, MARTA's MyCommute system will produce the trip options available to you.

Using the Information

Once you arrive at Step Two (Trip Selection), you will see several fields detailing various aspects of the trip. Route(s), Trip Start & End times, Total Trip Time, Number of Transfers, Walking Distance, and the fare are posted for your review.