XPRESS BUSES ARE A GOOD STOPGAP UNTIL ATLANTA-MACON COMMUTER LINE BEGINS SERVICE

On June 7 my family and I rode the Xpress Line from the Raceway [Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton, Georgia] to Five Points Station in downtown Atlanta. The bus is very nice and it only took about 45 minutes to get downtown. Of course, riding on I-75 is much more pleasant than driving on it! With the exception of a couple of scheduling glitches (which I'm sure will be ironed out quickly) it was a good experience. I was excited to see people riding to and from work - it's great to be connected to the city. While the Xpress Line is a nice alternative to driving up 19/41 and I-75 it is in no way a good long term transportation solution. In order to keep this bus "express" we will need more H.O.V. lanes. (A bus is the same slave to traffic as an automobile!) A better long term solution is a commuter rail which would use tracks that already exist and will truly be "express". The entire Atlanta to Macon commuter train line will cost about the same as building 9 miles of H.O.V. lane!!!

- Originally posted on the Neighborhood Forum at OurHampton.com