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Institute Study Estimates Economic and Labor Market Impact of MARTA

Officials at the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) can now provide objective measures of MARTA's benefit to its service region thanks to an economic impact analysis conducted by faculty at the Vinson Institute.

MARTA provides rail and bus transportation in Fulton and Dekalb Counties to millions of passengers each year. Almost 150,000 individuals in the Atlanta area rely on MARTA for their daily commutes to work, according to a recent survey. The study and report, conducted by the Institute's Wes Clarke along with Tommie Shepherd and Sharon Kane from the UGA Center for Agribusiness and Economic Development, detailed the effects of MARTA on the metro Atlanta economy and labor market. Specifically, they examined the role of MARTA in supporting jobs and providing transportation for commuters.

The Institute study found that in addition to MARTA's 4,500-person workforce in 2011, its operating budget of $432 million represented economic activity that supported another 9,400 jobs in the state through indirect and induced employment. MARTA's capital projects, which vary year to year, contributed to thousands of additional jobs in construction and other sectors.

The study also estimated the transit system's importance for labor mobility in metro Atlanta. In this respect, MARTA serves a dual purpose. It helps employees by transporting them to and from work, and it helps employers by expanding the pool of potential job applicants. The study looked at 54 major industry sectors and found that commuters who depend on MARTA are concentrated in the fastest growing sectors.

This study was a follow-up to a similar study conducted for MARTA by the Institute in 2007.