The Athens Transit System (ATS) is the public transportation provider in Athens-Clarke County. ATS operates twenty-three buses along fourteen routes Monday through Friday from 6:15 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Saturday service is offered along seven fixed routes from 7:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. These routes include North Avenue, East Athens, Beechwood/Baxter, West Broad/Atlanta Highway, West Broad/Brooklyn, Prince Avenue, Barber/Chase/Garnet Ridge, Macon Highway/Five Points, Riverbend, East Campus Road, Georgia Square Mall, Athens Tech, Lexington Road/Gaines School Road, College Station Road/Barnett Shoals Road. You may contact Transit regarding Bus Information at (706) 613-3430.
Athens Transit also operates a paratransit service known as "The Lift" for persons with disabilities. This service is operated on a one mile radius from the fixed route, which is 1/4 mile farther than the federally mandated distance. This service utilizes lift-equipped vans and offers door-to-door service. The lift operates the same hours as the fixed route. You may contact Transit regarding "The Lift" at (706) 613-3435.
The newest addition to compliment the Athens Transit System is "The Link" The Link is a Demand Response Circulator that serves the outlying areas of the county, particularly the Northern and Western edges of Athens-Clarke County and bring it's passengers to the nearest fixed route service line. This service, also utilizes lift-equipped vans and operates a total of 6 hours a day-approximately three hours in the morning and three hours in the evening.
The mission of Athens Transit is to provide affordable, safe and convenient transportation to the citizens of Athens-Clarke County. The largest volume of traffic served by ATS is the University of Georgia (UGA) student population. Routes 12 and 14 are predominately serving off-campus student housing. These two routes are among the most productive in the system. Other segments of the population who depend on transit are those who do not have access to automobiles and must reach jobs, shopping, or medical needs.
Athens Transit, under the direction of the Athens-Clarke County Manager, has primary responsibility for transit service and operations. Regional planning and decision making for the transit system is a coordinated effort through the Madison Athens-Clarke-Oconee Regional Transportation Study (MACORTS).
Over the past five years, total revenue for the Athens Transit System has steadily increased to a projected high of $1,183,213.00 in FY 2006. Increased federal funding along with an increase in fares paid by the University of Georgia (UGA) will likely continue the increase in revenue over the coming years. Ridership has seen a decrease since FY 2003. In FY 2003 ridership was 1,477,766 and has decreased to a projected low of 1,290,869 in FY 2005.
Ridership on the Demand Response has remained fairly steady over the past few years with ridership at approximately 9550 passenger trips per year. ATS has continually offered support and training, to those in need of "The Lift" service, to allow them the ability and knowledge to use "The Bus" whenever the need arises, allowing them more freedom to travel at their discretion.
The projected increase in population for Athens-Clarke County will provide Athens Transit with the opportunity to expand into new and growing markets, thereby extending its ridership base. This is especially true of the current projections of student enrollment over the next five years. As new ridership-based fares are instituted with the University of Georgia, revenue should continue to increase.
To meet the continued needs and demands generated by development, it will become necessary for the transit system to expand and modify its existing routes. Continued effective and efficient management of the transit system will ensure that revenues received along with federal and state assistance will allow the transit system to fully utilize its resources. As environmental and capacity issues become more of a regional issue, transit's role will increase as people become more aware of their role in reducing these regional concerns.
In December 1996, a Comprehensive Operational Analysis (COA), was performed by McDonald Transit Associates for the Athens Transit System. The report evaluated the overall effectiveness and efficiency of the transit system and made recommendations regarding the future operation of the system. One of the recommendations included raising the fare to $1, which was implemented in June 1997. Other recommendations included service modifications to some of the Saturday and weekday routes.
As the transit system continues to expand, the facilities that support these options will require improvement. Items such as shelters, benches, and bus bays will be required at existing stops and at new stops added over the coming years. After the Multi-Modal Transportation Center (MMTC) is completes in 2005, the Athens Transit's Transfer Center will be relocated to that site. This will require possible disposition or modification to the existing Transfer Center located at Washington Street and College Avenue. If the transit system decides to switch to an alternative fuel source, additional facilities may be required to accommodate that new source.
Additional information regarding Transit may be found in the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) Transit Pages.