MARTA has beefed up its on-street fleet and deployed some seriously long-ass buses for the first time in ages.
This week, MARTA held a ribbon-cutting at Five Points to debut its new roster of 18 articulated buses — aka "bendy" buses — to complement the 565 regular MARTA buses currently cruising the city, Atlanta INtown reports. They're about 20 feet longer than current MARTA busses.
At a cost of $845,000 a pop, the buses boast an accordion-like feature that allows for an expanded interior and much greater capacity. Each articulated bus can haul about 100 people — 53 seated and up to 50 standing. All are Wi-Fi enabled.
MARTA is dispatching the bendy buses on its highest-ridership routes, including the #39, #196, and the Braves Shuttle.
As this image proves, the concept is hardly new. Online reports conflict in regards to the last time articulated buses saw action on Atlanta's street. Some say they were nixed once the bulk of MARTA's heavy-rail system opened, while others posit they stuck around into the late 1990s.
- MARTA to debut articulated ‘bendy’ buses [Atlanta INtown]
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