I guess I didn't make my point well enough about all the counties in the Metro Area being forced to participate in MARTA. It is an energy issue and a traffic issue. The residence in the outlying counties do come in to the MARTA counties to go to dinner and see shows, but they also use MARTA. Why should they use MARTA when I have to pay for it? Go to any outlying MARTA stations on a weekend and check all the cars from Cobb, Gwinnett, Henry and other counties. They park their cars and go to the airport. Why? Because it's convenient! If we had a system-wide transportation system, maybe it would work better. I agree with some complaints with MARTA, there's been lots of mismanagement and misspent funds, but a public transportation system is never a money maker. How does CCT manage? It serves Cobb county, with one stop in Fulton at the Arts Center, but maybe if Cobb were with it, there would be a MARTA station in Marietta or Vinings.
I grew up in the DC area and the Metro system was built before I started working, but I was old enough to understand what was happening. There was a lot of political wranglings about where to make the stops and who should get all the attention, but when the rail line was built, most bus routes were changed to feed into the Metro system. Because I lived off a major route, I could catch an express bus that would only stop along that route, and when it got to 395 it would go straight to the Pentagon and you could catch Metro from there. They put stops in areas that were blighted, with no big 'draw' but lots of people and guess what? You can't touch a condo in those areas from under $300K. The developers got wise and started building around the Metro stations, something Atlanta developers don't get. In DC, the Georgetown area absolutely did not want a Metro stop in their community, for some of the same reasons that Cobb and Gwinnett are using. Now they're pissed because they missed out on the money.
All the locals complained about Metro when it was new, and I'm sure they still complain, but Metro is sited as one of the best systems in the country. It still doesn't go everywhere, and it's still a problem getting from the east of the city to the west (you have to change lines at Metro Center, which, BTW has underground openings to department stores and shopping areas) but it beats the alternative.
This area has to get over the 'Us vs. Them' mentality and realize we're all in this together.