U.S. Department of Transportation officials made a site visit in Atlanta last week as part of the federal investigation into MARTA’s safety and security.
The Trump administration launched its investigation in June after several high-profile violent incidents, including the fatal stabbing of a 66-year-old grandmother who had just boarded a train.
Safety and finance staff from the local and Washington, D.C., offices were part of the two-day site visit. They met with staff from MARTA’s legal department, according to a sign-in sheet.
Federal officials have asked MARTA for documentation showing what the transit agency does to prevent crime and make sure all passengers have paid fares. They also asked for information about MARTA’s budget for passenger and employee safety.
MARTA met a 15-day deadline to provide the information. MARTA spokesperson Payson Schwin said Tuesday that the agency is working to provide additional documentation that’s been requested by the Federal Transit Administration, the agency that is conducting the investigation.
“We do not yet know when the final report will be released,” he said.
Site visits are part of the second phase of the investigation.
U.S. DOT officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment or to share the status of the investigation. A spokesperson said previously they will be “thoroughly vetting” MARTA’s procedures.
“A plan on paper is only as good as its execution,” U.S. DOT spokesperson Brenna Jefferies said in a statement earlier this year. “The safety of every rider and transit worker remains our absolute priority, and we will continue to hold MARTA accountable until this system is completely secure.”
Credit: Ben Hendren
Credit: Ben Hendren
When the investigation was launched, the FTA said violent crimes requiring medical attention, or resulting in death, happened on MARTA nearly twice as often as the national average since October 2023.
An Atlanta Journal-Constitution analysis of the federal data found such crimes occurred once for every 1.9 million trips on a MARTA train or bus. Across all transit systems nationwide, the rate is about one crime for every 3.5 million trips.
MARTA officials have taken a defensive stance while promising to cooperate fully. They’ve said the system is safe and that the FTA data unfairly compares MARTA to significantly smaller bus-only agencies.
Agencies with rail and bus service are a better comparison, MARTA General Manager and CEO Jonathan Hunt said previously. But even by that measure, violent crime still happens more frequently on MARTA than elsewhere, the AJC found.
The investigation has been welcomed by the union representing MARTA employees. A bus driver was shot and killed last year over a fare dispute, and union leaders have said the agency hasn’t taken their calls for increased safety protections seriously.
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