The transit referendum on the July ballot is being marketed as a yes-or-no on bus rapid transit along the Memorial Drive corridor. The actual ordinance is broader, longer, and in two respects worth understanding before the vote.

The first is the fare-capping language, which was added in committee three weeks ago and which would, in practice, lock in current MARTA pricing through 2032. The second is a small clause near the end that quietly redirects the existing TSPLOST sidewalk allocation into the new fund.

What the ordinance funds

The core: a 12-mile BRT line from Downtown through Reynoldstown and Kirkwood out to the East Lake MARTA station, with center-running lanes and signal priority. Ten new arterial-priority bus corridors in the near southern and western neighborhoods. A modest expansion of the streetcar loop. Roughly $210 million over the term for pedestrian and bike safety on the routes served.

The fine print

Section 14(c) — the fare cap — would prevent MARTA's board from raising base fares before FY2033 without a supermajority. Well-intended, but it removes the operational flexibility MARTA has historically used to fund service expansions.

Section 19(b) — the sidewalk redirection — moves the $46-million TSPLOST sidewalk line item into the transit fund starting in FY2028. In practice this defunds the existing city sidewalk-repair program without saying so on the ballot summary.

What the vote is really about

A cleaner ordinance without either provision would pass with room to spare. The version on the ballot is closer than the polling suggests. Whichever way it lands, the sidewalk clause is likely to draw its own council fight in the fall.

About the author

Marcus Thorne

Executive Editor for News. Runs the daily newsroom and the Pulse desk.