Maybe just a sign of the times, but the mindless service provided by Marta (Atlanta's excuse for "public" transportation) is even worse than one would expect from a government monopoly. The average Marta employee has an IQ approaching single digits, or so their ignorant, English-challenged behavior seems to suggest. They all (all we've ever encountered) have unwarranted chips on their shoulders, and they're itching to start some kind of trouble with otherwise peaceful customers. Being government employees--performing at the same level as any other welfare recipient--they are mad with power far beyond their ability to responsibly wield, leaving frustrated riders with no alternatives should they be cheated. Speaking of cheating, Marta appears to advertise a rate of $1.75 but charges $2.25 once you're trapped on the premises. Being government, it's not held to the same truth-in-advertising standards the rest of are. It's definitely not smarter to ride Marta. Better yet, when traveling through the hell that is Atlanta, go for the most gas-guzzling, oil-burning, smog-producing hunk of junk you can drive; maybe the air there will become so toxic, we can finally declare the city and its "Smarta Marta" morons to be the waste some of us already know them to be.