CobbLinc (formerly Cobb Community Transit) is the

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

public transit Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typic ...

system in

Cobb County, Georgia Cobb County is a county in the U.S. state of Georgia, located in the Atlanta metropolitan area in the north central portion of the state. As of 2020 Census, the population was 766,149. Its county seat and largest city is Marietta. Along with ...

, one of

metro Atlanta Metro Atlanta, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as the Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Alpharetta, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area, is the most populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Georgia and the ...

's three most populous suburban

counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

. (The others are

Gwinnett County Gwinnett County ( ) is located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. It forms part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. In 2020, the population was 957,062, making it the second-most populous county in Georgia (after Fulton ...

, which operates Gwinnett County Transit and Clayton County, which formerly operated

Clayton County C-TRAN The Clayton County C-TRAN was a bus transportation system in Clayton County, Georgia, USA, that ran from 2001 to 2010. C-Tran was run by the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (GRTA) to manage the local bus system, linking bus routes to MART ...

but is now served by

MARTA Marta may refer to: People * Marta (given name), a feminine given name * Märta, a feminine given name * Marta (surname) : István Márta composer * Marta (footballer) (born 1986), Brazilian professional footballer Places * Marta (river), ...

Operation

Parked Cobb Community Transit buses, April 2017 1

CobbLinc began operations in July 1989 (as Cobb Community Transit) and has had relatively strong ridership (3,793,253 total passengers in 2005) since then. The hub is along South Marietta Parkway in Marietta, just west of the former

Southern Polytechnic State University Southern Polytechnic State University (also called Southern Poly; abbreviated SPSU) was a public, co-educational, state university in Marietta, Georgia, United States approximately northwest of downtown Atlanta. Until 2015, it was an independe ...

now the Marietta campus of Kennesaw State University. Routes connect to the most populated areas of the county, including

Mableton Mableton is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Cobb County, Georgia, United States. According to the 2020 census, Mableton has a population of 40,834. Upon Brookhaven's cityhood in December 2012, Mableton became ...

and Kennesaw. Express routes also operate down to

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

, connecting with

at the Arts Center station.

Transfer Transfer may refer to: Arts and media * ''Transfer'' (2010 film), a German science-fiction movie directed by Damir Lukacevic and starring Zana Marjanović * ''Transfer'' (1966 film), a short film * ''Transfer'' (journal), in management studies ...

s are free between MARTA and CCT, though both transit agencies charge the same fare ($2.50) with a Breeze Card. CobbLinc's annual operating budget is about $12.9 million (2004), from fares and the general county budget, as well as

Federal grant In the United States, federal grants are economic aid issued by the United States government out of the general federal revenue. A federal grant is an award of financial assistance from a federal agency to a recipient to carry out a public purp ...

s. All buses make automatic announcements inside the bus of upcoming stops and major roads, and stop requests from passengers. This is done by pre-recorded voice announcements for the vision-impaired and

LED A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light (cor ...

message signs for the hearing-impaired. External announcements are also made by voice, in addition to the normal electronic signs. Some buses also run on

compressed natural gas Compressed natural gas (CNG) is a fuel gas mainly composed of methane (CH4), compressed to less than 1% of the volume it occupies at standard atmospheric pressure. It is stored and distributed in hard containers at a pressure of , usually in ...

(CNG) rather than diesel.

Planning

Along with Gwinnett, Cobb voted against MARTA in the 1970s, and thus was left out of the system. The lack of

sales tax A sales tax is a tax paid to a governing body for the sales of certain goods and services. Usually laws allow the seller to collect funds for the tax from the consumer at the point of purchase. When a tax on goods or services is paid to a gove ...

revenue from the two counties stunted the growth of MARTA, however the GRTA created by former governor of Georgia

Roy Barnes Roy Eugene Barnes (born March 11, 1948)Cook, James F. (2005). ''The Governors of Georgia, 1754-2004, 3rd Edition, Revised and Expanded.'' Macon, GA: Mercer University Press. is an American attorney and politician who served as the 80th Govern ...

has been seeking to create other solutions, such as possible light rail to Cobb through the Cumberland Mall and

Town Center at Cobb Town Center at Cobb (often called Town Center Mall), is a super-regional shopping mall located in Cobb County, Georgia near Atlanta. The anchor stores are two Macy's stores, a Belk, and a JCPenney. There is one vacant anchor stores that was once S ...

areas. Other solutions proposed include special bus-only

lane In road transport, a lane is part of a roadway that is designated to be used by a single line of vehicles to control and guide drivers and reduce traffic conflicts. Most public roads ( highways) have at least two lanes, one for traffic in eac ...

s on

Interstate 75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from ...

, and

commuter rail Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are co ...

into Cherokee County. A cross-suburb line over to Gwinnett County has also been proposed, intersecting with a future extended MARTA north line between

Roswell Roswell may refer to: * Roswell incident Places in the United States * Roswell, Colorado, a former settlement now part of Colorado Springs * Roswell, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta * Roswell, Idaho * Roswell, New Mexico, known for the purported 194 ...

and

Sandy Springs Sandy Springs is a city in northern Fulton County, Georgia and an inner ring suburb of Atlanta. The city's population was 108,080 at the 2020 census, making it Georgia's seventh-largest city. It is the site of several corporate headquarters, i ...

Fulton County Fulton County is the name of eight counties in the United States of America. Most are named for Robert Fulton, inventor of the first practical steamboat: *Fulton County, Arkansas, named after Governor William Savin Fulton *Fulton County, Georgia *F ...

2019 Light Rail Proposal

In May 2010 Cobb's Board of Commissioners approved further funding to study a light rail line from the Cumberland/Galleria area to the Town Center/KSU area. If constructed, the line would be approximately long with seven stations. The proposed line would be constructed and operational by 2019 with the expectation of nearly 50,000 riders daily by 2025. At each end of the line, a circulator bus system has also been proposed bringing the total expected ridership for the new combined LRT/BRT system to nearly 100,000. The project would be funded and operated through both federal and local sources. As of 2010, it is unclear whether or not the new transit system would be operated by CCT, a new agency, or even another existing agency such as MARTA.

Flex Busses and Shuttles

In 2015, Flex buses were added in Cobb County. They are organized into three zones in Powder Springs and Austell. There is also a Cumberland CID circulator shuttle.

Express

Cobb operates five GRTA Express routes, funded by GRTA. Express route 476 serves Douglas County, Powder Springs and Hiram park and rides. Route 463 serves Douglas County MMTC and West Douglas. Route 480, 483, and 490 serve Town Center. 480 continues to Acworth. 483 and 490 continue to Woodstock, and then 490 continues to Canton.

Shortfalls

CobbLinc generally serves the core portions of the county, and the Six Flags area, with little to no service to the West and East sides. Acworth, as well as the greater northwestern area of the county, lack local service, with only express routes operating out of the newly renovated Acworth Park and Ride lot. East Cobb has no routes at all after route 65 was shut down. In East and West Cobb there are many county-owned facilities, such as the East Cobb Regional Library, West Cobb Regional Library, West Cobb Aquatic Center and Mountain View Aquatic Center that have no service at all. West Cobb only has three flex zones in the Southwest portion, and one GRTA Express route operated by Cobb County. Other busy throughways that have no service - natural spots for transit corridors - include but are not limited to Dallas Highway (in West Cobb) and the northern end of Cobb Parkway. Other complaints include infrequent service to MARTA stations as well as a complete shutdown of the system every Sunday and on Holidays, as opposed to other regional operators, which operate reduced schedules on these days.

Routes

Most routes begin and end at the Marietta Transfer Center, though several operate from the Cumberland Boulevard Transfer Center.

Local

*10: Marietta to Cumberland Mall via U.S. Route 41, then to MARTA Arts Center station *15: Marietta, south to County Services Parkway, then Windy Hill Road west to Wildwood office park *20: Marietta to Cumberland Mall, via South Cobb Drive *30: Marietta to MARTA H. E. Holmes station, including Mableton and

Six Flags Over Georgia Six Flags Over Georgia is a theme park located in Mableton, Georgia. Opened in 1967, it is the second park in the Six Flags chain following the original Six Flags Over Texas, which opened in 1961. Six Flags Over Georgia is one of three park ...

*35:Cobb Hospital to MARTA H. E. Holmes station including Austell iscontinued ***40: North to Town Center Mall (at

J. C. Penney Penney OpCo LLC, doing business as JCPenney and often abbreviated JCP, is a midscale American department store chain operating 667 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Departments inside JCPenney stores include Mens, Womens, Boys, Girl ...

) near Kennesaw, along Bells Ferry Road *45: Similar to 40, but along U.S. 41 instead; ends at Town Center Mall via

Kennesaw State University Kennesaw State University (KSU) is a public research university located in the state of Georgia with two different campuses in the Atlanta metropolitan area, one in Kennesaw and the other in Marietta on a combined of land. The school was fo ...

*50: Marietta to Cumberland Mall, via Powers Ferry Road *65: East along Roswell Road, south along Johnson Ferry Road to Johnson Ferry Baptist Church, Park and Ride Lot, rush hours also to MARTA Dunwoody station, in DeKalb County iscontinued ***70: Cumberland Mall west to

WellStar Wellstar Health System (formerly WellStar) is a non-profit system founded in 1993 providing comprehensive care in Metro Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It includes: * Center for Health Transformation * Spalding Regional Hospital * Sylvan Grove Ho ...

Cobb Hospital and Cobb County Health Center via East-West Connector and Powder Springs Road, including

Home Depot The Home Depot, Inc., is an American multinational corporation, multinational home improvement retail corporation that sells tools, construction products, appliances, and services, including fuel and transportation rentals. Home Depot is the l ...

world headquarters iscontinued *** ** Discontinued August 1, 2011

Express

Express buses run only during peak hours, and only

weekday The weekdays and weekend are the complementary parts of the week devoted to Labour (economics), labour and Leisure, rest, respectively. The legal weekdays (British English), or workweek (American English), is the part of the seven-day week devo ...

Morning Morning is the period from sunrise to noon. There are no exact times for when morning begins (also true of evening and night) because it can vary according to one's lifestyle and the hours of daylight at each time of year. However, morning stric ...

buses run only ''to'' Atlanta, afternoon buses only ''from'' Atlanta. All buses run via

I-75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from St ...

, I-575 and

I-20 Interstate 20 (I‑20) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States. I-20 runs beginning at an interchange with I-10 in Scroggins Draw, Texas, and ending at an interchange with I-95 in Florence, South Carolina. Bet ...

, and charge a fare of three dollars one-way, four for a round trip. .
10X: Upcoming route to replace 10A,10B,10C routes on summer 2019
*100: "North Cobb Express", Kennesaw (Busbee Park and Ride Lot) to MARTA Civic Center station, then to Five Points *101: "Marietta Express", Marietta (Transfer Center) to MARTA Arts Center station, and

Peachtree Street Peachtree Street is one of several major streets running through the city of Atlanta. Beginning at Five Points in downtown Atlanta, it runs North through Midtown; a few blocks after entering into Buckhead, the name changes to Peachtree Road ...

at Luckie Street *102: "Acworth to Midtown", Acworth (Acworth Park and Ride Lot) to MARTA Arts Center station *476 (GRTA Xpress Route): "Hiram-Powder Springs to Atlanta", Hiram (Hiram 278 Theater Park and Ride Lot) and Powder Springs to MARTA Civic Center and Arts Center stations *475/75 (GRTA Xpress Route): "Austell to Atlanta", South Cobb County (unincorporated) and

Six Flags Six Flags Entertainment Corporation is an American amusement park corporation, headquartered in Arlington, Texas. It has properties in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Six Flags owns the most theme parks and waterparks combined of any amu ...

Theme Park to the MARTA Civic Center station. *480 (GRTA Xpress Route): "Acworth to Atlanta", Busbee Park and Ride Lot to Five Points and the MARTA Civic Center station *481 (GRTA Xpress Route): "Children's Healthcare to Atlanta", Children's Healthcare Park and Ride Lot to Five Points and the MARTA Civic Center station

Park and Ride Lots and Transfer Centers

*Marietta Transfer Center (MTC) Park and Ride @ South Marietta Parkway (SR 120 Loop) - Routes 10, 10C, 15, 20, 30, 40, 45, 50, 65 and 101 connect at the MTC *Busbee Park and Ride @ George Busbee Parkway - Express Route 100 and GRTA Route 480 connect at Busbee *Children's Healthcare Park and Ride @ Big Shanty Road - Express Route 100 and GRTA Route 481 connect at Children's Healthcare *Johnson Ferry Baptist Church Park and Ride @ Johnson Ferry Road - Route 65 connects at the Johnson Ferry Baptist Church *Powder Springs Park and Ride @ the

Silver Comet Trail The Silver Comet Trail is a rail trail in west-northwestern Georgia, United States. Route The Silver Comet Trail is named for the '' Silver Comet'' passenger train that traversed the same route from 1947 to 1969. It begins in Smyrna, Georgia, ...

in Powder Springs, GA - GRTA Route 476 connects at Florence Road *Floyd Road Park and Ride @ the Silver Comet Trail in Mableton, GA - Route 30 connect at Floyd Road *Acworth Park and Ride @ Lake Acworth Drive in

Acworth, GA Acworth is a city in Cobb County, Georgia, United States. It is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. The 2019 estimate for Acworth's population is 22,818. As of the 2010 census, this city had a population of 20,425, up from 13,422 in 2000. Acwo ...

- Express Route 102 and GRTA Route 480 connect at Acworth *Cumberland Transfer Center (CTC) @ Cumberland Boulevard/Cumberland Mall (does not have a park and ride lot) - Routes 10, 10A, 10B, 20, 25, 50, 70 and

Route 12 connect at the CTC

References

External links

{{commons category, CobbLinc
CobbLinc website
Bus transportation in Georgia (U.S. state) Transportation in Cobb County, Georgia