CobbLinc (formerly Cobb Community Transit) is the

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...

public transit Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of wh ...

system in

Cobb County, Georgia Cobb County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, and is a core county of the Atlanta metropolitan area in the north-central portion of the state. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 766, ...

, one of

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

's three most populous

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

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

. 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.

Operation

CobbLinc has two hubs. Marietta Transit Center 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 university, public, co-educational, state university in Marietta, Georgia, United States approximately northwest of downtown Atlanta. Until 2015, ...

now the Marietta campus of Kennesaw State University. Routes connect to the most populated areas of the county, including Mableton and Kennesaw. Express routes also operate down to

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, connecting with

MARTA Marta may refer to: People * Marta (given name), a feminine given name * Märta, a feminine given name * Marta (surname) * Marta (footballer) (born 1986), Brazilian professional footballer Places * Marta (river), an Italian river that flow ...

at the

Arts Center An art centre or arts center is distinct from an art gallery or art museum. An arts centre is a functional community centre with a specific remit to encourage arts practice and to provide facilities such as theatre space, gallery space, venues fo ...

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 (corresp ...

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 govern ...

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 governo ...

has been seeking to create other solutions, such as possible

light rail Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...

to Cobb through the Cumberland Mall and Town Center at Cobb 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 S ...

, and

commuter rail Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...

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 and Sandy Springs in Fulton County.

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.

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 U.S. Route 41, also U.S. Highway 41 (US 41), is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs from Miami, Florida, to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Until 1949, the part in southern Florida, from Naples to Miam ...

, 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 *25: Cumberland to MARTA H. E. Holmes station, via Concord Rd SE, Hurt Rd, Austell Rd, Maxham Rd, Mableton Pkwy, Hillcrest Rd SE. *30: Marietta to MARTA H. E. Holmes station, including Mableton and

Six Flags Over Georgia Six Flags Over Georgia is a amusement park in Austell, Georgia, United States. 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 t ...

*35:Cobb Hospital to MARTA H. E. Holmes station including Austell iscontinued ***40: North to Town Center Mall (at J. C. Penney) 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 in the U.S. state of Georgia with two campuses in the Atlanta metropolitan area, one in the Kennesaw area and the other in Marietta on a combined of land. The school was founded ...

*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 hour A rush hour (American English, British English) or peak hour (Australian English, Indian English) is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest. Normally, this happens twice e ...

s also to MARTA Dunwoody station, in DeKalb County iscontinued ***70: Cumberland Mall west to WellStar Cobb Hospital and Cobb County Health Center via East-West Connector and Powder Springs Road, including

Home Depot The Home Depot, Inc., often referred to as Home Depot, is an American multinational corporation, multinational home improvement retail corporation that sells tools, construction products, appliances, and services, including fuel and transportat ...

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 and rest, respectively. The legal weekdays (British English), or workweek (American English), is the part of the seven-day week devoted to working. In most o ...

Morning Morning is either the period from sunrise to noon, or the period from midnight to noon. In the first definition it is preceded by the twilight period of dawn, and there are no exact times for when morning begins (also true of evening and nigh ...

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 System, Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes and Southeastern United States, Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end ...

, I-575 and

I-20 I20, I 20 or I-20 may refer to: * Interstate 20, a highway in the southeastern United States * I-20 (form), a United States government document that provides supporting information for the issuance of a student visa or change of status * I-20 (rap ...

, 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, Georgia, United States. Beginning at Five Points (Atlanta), Five Points in downtown Atlanta, it runs North through Midtown Atlanta, Midtown; a few blocks afte ...

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 company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. It was formed on July 2, 2024, following a merger between longtime rivals Cedar Fair and the former Six Flags ...

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, Georgi ...

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 - 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