In 2016, voters in Fulton County, outside of the City of Atlanta, approved a 3/4-cent special purpose local option sales tax for transportation (TSPLOST). Funding raised from TSPLOST can be spent only on transportation improvements, such as roads, bridges, sidewalks, and bicycle paths. In February 2017, the Fulton County Board of Commissioners and Mayors affirmed that a plan was needed to determine potential expansion of transit services in Fulton County. The Atlanta Regional Commission in collaboration with MARTA, Fulton County, and the 14 participating cities helped fund and manage this study.
The Fulton County Transit Master Plan includes a review of each city’s community vision and economic development strategies, an analysis of existing transit services and needs, a market analysis, transit scenario development, and a financial model to determine the potential for expanded transit services within Fulton County. The Master Plan included an extensive public engagement process that reached more than 850 participants face-to-face at public meetings, special population meetings, stakeholder interviews, community events and more than 2,400 participants through online surveys.