If you ride the bus into downtown Atlanta, check your timetable before your next trip. MARTA has notified passengers that more than 30 routes are getting adjusted schedules across the network, and five routes have already seen what the agency calls slight routing changes. The changes vary by day of the week and by direction of travel, so a route that looks unchanged on a weekday may run differently on a Saturday or Sunday.
The change with the most direct downtown consequence is on Route 20 South DeKalb / Downtown Atlanta. Eastbound trips to the South DeKalb Transfer Point are being extended to Columbia Drive, and all westbound trips will now depart from the transfer point on the same side of the street. The route will no longer serve South Rainbow Drive, and on weekdays all AM and PM peak trips will continue to and from New Snapfinger Woods Drive. On top of the routing work, Route 20's schedule is shifting too: westbound service will start five minutes earlier and end 15 minutes later on weekdays, and eastbound weekend service will end three minutes earlier.
The other four routing adjustments sit outside the core but touch riders who transfer downtown. Route 1 Joseph E. Lowery Boulevard / 17th Street is being realigned to Brady Avenue once intersection improvements are finished. Route 5 Piedmont Road / Sandy Springs will realign southbound trips following intersection work at Mount Vernon Highway and Johnson Ferry Road. Route 114 Columbia Drive / Snapfinger Woods Drive will send westbound trips left onto Huber Street instead of Chupp Road and move to a different stop at the Panola Park and Ride. Route 117 Stone Mountain / Panola Road also moves to a different Panola Park and Ride stop and will dwell there longer instead of at the end of the line.
Several schedule changes are worth noting for anyone timing a connection. Route 83 Campbellton Road gets more frequent PM peak service, dropping from every 15 minutes to every 12. Route 182 South Fulton Parkway adds a northbound weeknight trip departing at midnight and arriving at College Park Station at 12:45 a.m. Routes 66 Brownlee Road / Harbin Road and 67 Peyton Place both stretch from every 40 minutes to every 45, with later service endings, and Route 67 runs 50 minutes later on weekdays and 45 minutes later on weekends. Routes 7, 15, 23, 26, 46, 75 and 191 are all getting minutes-level start and end adjustments. Separately, MARTA Reach will reallocate vans between zones without changing hours of service.
Riders who depend on MARTA Mobility should pay attention as well. Because Mobility operates within a defined distance of bus routes and rail stations, the agency said adjustments to fixed-route service can result in corresponding updates to paratransit service, and it encouraged Mobility riders to review current service information and plan ahead. Questions about Mobility trip reservations go to 404-848-4212 or the agency's website.
MARTA framed the scale of the update as routine, noting it typically revises routes about three times a year. A longer list of routes is also getting travel-time-only schedule tweaks, including the Rapid A Line and routes 2, 7, 10, 14, 21, 26, 51, 73, 80, 114, 117, 118, 120, 121, 165, 178, 189, 194, 195 and 196.
Original reporting: Rough Draft Atlanta (2026-08-24)