GA: Cobb Eyes Final Votes on Bus Route Consolidations

On Tuesday, the Cobb County Board of Commissioners is set to issue its final vote on changes to the county’s bus service proposed amid ridership reductions.

Cobb Department of Transportation staff wants the board to nix the CobbLinc Green Circulator, a free loop that runs near the Battery, and expand the nearby CobbLinc Blue Circulator to serve some of the same stops.

Staff also wants to see the board enter an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with the Atlanta-Region Transit Link Authority (ATL) that will expand ATL’s 484 Xpress Route in Cobb County an additional seven trips a day, while at the same time slashing three CobbLinc routes that run a similar path.

If all three agenda items pertaining to the changes are approved by the board Tuesday, the CobbLinc Green Circulator will be gone by June 15, and CobbLinc Routes 100, 101 and 102 will be history as of June 16.

Cobb DOT Director Drew Raessler told the board during its Monday agenda review session that CobbLinc currently runs commuter routes from Acworth, Town Center and Marietta. He said if the board approves the agreement Tuesday, ATL will adjust its 484 Xpress route to track I-75 with very similar service points.

“Those services which were originally provided, are just essentially being modified and consolidated under one umbrella,” Raessler said.

He said the only change will be the exclusion of the Marietta Transfer Center from ATL’s Xpress Route. Riders will still be able to go to Midtown from Marietta on Route 10, Raessler said.

The consolidation is being proposed as regional ridership stands at just 30% of its pre-pandemic levels, according to an equity analysis conducted by Cobb. Ridership on CobbLinc’s commuter routes have also suffered since COVID, dropping 81% from roughly 116,000 passengers in 2019 to just 21,500 in 2024.

Cobb Chairwoman Lisa Cupid raised concerns that ridership could rise again, as many workers are being pushed back into the office as part of broader efforts to end remote work nationwide.

“As we see ridership continue to come back with return to work, that’s always an option the board has, to be able to supplement that service throughout the 484 that ATL usually provides, or to bring service back ourselves if needed,” Raessler said. “... But I think there is value to having a sole operator on the (Interstate) 75.”

Per the drafted $967,000 deal with ATL, CobbLinc will contribute roughly $393,000 a year to expand the 484’s service. ATL will reimburse the county nearly $575,000 to provide maintenance and operation of the commuter buses, which will be ATL-owned.

According to the agenda item, the removal of the 100, 101 and 102 commuter routes will save the county more than $850,000 and provide enough funding for an agreement with ATL to last from June 16, 2025, to June 30, 2026.

Cutting the Green Circulator is expected to save the county nearly $260,000 annually, according to Cobb DOT staff.

Commissioner JoAnn Birrell asked Raessler if removing the Green Circulator — which takes riders between The Battery, Atlanta Marriott Northwest at Galleria, Windy Hill Athletic Club and other stops in the Cumberland area for free — will impact the thousands of visitors coming to Cobb for the 2025 MLB All-Star Game this July.

Raessler told her staff is bringing the proposed Green Circulator changes to the board Tuesday to ensure that the loop will be removed and the Blue Circulator modified in time for the game.

“Having one circulator route in the Cumberland area will allow for much easier marketing and explanation of exactly where that service is being provided,” he said, adding the paid CobbLinc Routes 15 and 50 will also be providing service along Circle 75 and Powers Ferry, areas the Green Circulator runs through now.

“This gives us a long enough runway to make sure that we’re communicating not so much a removal of transit service, but an adjustment of transit service,” Raessler said. “... Our goal would be to have these in place prior to All-Star (week).”

The proposed changes to the Green Circulator and commuter routes are also a result of the failure of the Mobility Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (M-SPLOST) in November 2024. Had voters approved the additional 1% sales tax, Cobb would have collected an estimated $11 billion over 30 years to fund transit initiatives in the county.

More than 62% of voters rejected the idea.

The Cobb County Board of Commissioners will meet at 9 a.m. Tuesday inside the Board Room of the David Hankerson Building, located at 100 Cherokee Street in Marietta.

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