Clayton County passes referendum to expand MARTA

Voters in Clayton County, Ga., yesterday approved a referendum that called for an expansion of Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) service to the county.

Passage of the referendum means Clayton is the first new county to add MARTA service since the authority began operating in Dekalb and Fulton in 1971, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported early this morning. Of the Atlanta region's five core counties, Clayton is the only one that lacks a public transit system.

The referendum's passage means Clayton's sales tax will increase from 7 percent to 8 percent in March 2015. Half the proceeds will help fund limited bus service starting in March and full bus service in 2016. The other half will be preserved for future commuter-rail or potential bus-rapid transit service, the newspaper reported.