Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) Interim General Manager and CEO Jonathan Hunt announced a restructuring of his leadership team and numerous operational changes to the MARTA system in a press conference on Sept. 11.
Rhonda Allen, CE ‘99, M.S. CE ‘02 and formerly MARTA’s Chief Customer Experience Officer, has stepped into her new role as Deputy General Manager. She will oversee several departments, including the Divisions of Customer Experience and Technology, Operations and Urban Planning and Capital Programs.
Allen began her 25-year journey at MARTA with the completion of the north entrance of MARTA’s Buckhead Transit Station and the creation of MARTA’s Riders’ Advisory Council, a diverse group of metropolitan Atlanta residents that helped strengthen the company with its communities.
Larry Prescott, MARTA’s current Assistant General Manager of Infrastructure, will serve as Interim Chief Capital Officer while MARTA searches for a permanent leader to take on this role. Prescott spearheaded the planning and development of MARTA’s capital projects in the past and aims to ensure continuity and momentum for ongoing projects and operations.
MARTA Chief of Operational and Urban Planning Paul Lopes’ role will now include oversight of all transit operations. Lopes has over 35 years of experience in transit operations, business planning and project management. Recently, he served as the CEO and General Manager of the Ontario Line for Transdev Canada, leading efforts to integrate mass transit solutions into a regional, multimodal network that can meet evolving customer mobility needs.
During a press conference, Hunt highlighted several changes and potential improvements to the MARTA system. He outlined four near-term goals: operational efficiency, improving safety and security, advancing and delivering key projects and finishing preparations for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
To improve operational reliability, MARTA recently hired an operational consultant to inspect the systems and look at areas for improvement. This is part of ongoing efforts to reduce operator absenteeism and recruit, hire and train bus and rail operators while continuing repair work throughout the system.
Hunt said, “…this type of work can be a little messy, a little discomforting. But it is this work that is vital to keeping a safe and reliable system each and every day.”
MARTA plans to add 10 more field protective specialists and 30 more sworn officers to improve safety and security. By the end of the fourth fiscal quarter of this year, 250 officers will staff the MARTA Police Department.
Though the trends in data are already positive, with violent crime being reduced by half in the last five years and by 16% from last year, Hunt emphasized that the efforts of MARTA continuously strive for improvement. “We are encouraged by our trends, and we’re going to continue to [deliver] an even safer system. We’re going to go from good to great,” he said.
There will be a bus network redesign that will deliver 15-minute headways to more than 245% of people who have access to the system. A new program called the MARTA Reach will create 12 on-demand zones, allowing riders to take a more micro-transit experience.
Hunt also announced a modernization of fare gates to reduce fare evasion, improve aesthetics and allow riders to pay directly with virtual wallets, credit or debit cards and physical or virtual Breeze cards.
This transition will occur in the second fiscal quarter, around April 2026. Rehabilitation and transformation projects are also underway at Clayton County, the Five Points station and the Garnett station. MARTA’s Summerhill Rapid A-Line, the first bus rapid transit project in Georgia, will be ready and online in the spring of 2026.
The changes come at a critical time as Atlanta gets ready to be one of 11 U.S. host cities for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. To ensure MARTA is equipped to handle the large volume of riders, the city will add additional shuttle trains and more load-and-go teams, in addition to improvements to the escalators, crowd control measures and safety measures. At the State Farm arena, crews will install a new escalator bank to serve the newly-renamed Sports, Entertainment and Convention District (SEC) station, and they will add a new entrance directly into Centennial Yards.
“This vision will build consistent delivery and it is in that consistency of delivery that we will build and enhance the public trust in MARTA,” Hunt said. These system enhancements follow a series of issues at MARTA stations, including an escalator pile-up in July after a Beyoncé concert that left 11 fans hurt and a violent attack on a woman on Sept. 3. Since then, the company has been more proactive during times of potential high transit use, which will be reflected in these system changes and the overall vision of MARTA.
“The way to rebuild public trust in MARTA is by delivering routine excellence every day,” Hunt said. “I believe these organizational changes will strengthen accountability, create space for innovation and enhance service delivery.”