MARTA, Decatur

In the 1950s, the importance of Atlanta's public transportation system began to come into focus: not just as a means of getting people around, but also as a critical part of the city's future growth. By 1965, proposals and conversations spurred action, and the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority Act—MARTA—was born.

Today, MARTA is one of the top transportation agencies in the country. Its 48 miles of rail and 740 bus stops not only help people get where they want to go in safe, reliable fashion, but it also drives more than $1.4 billion in economic activity annually in Georgia. Those aren't the only impressive numbers behind MARTA's success, either—read on to learn more about the math of MARTA:

• 500,000: The number of people who use MARTA every week day.
• 3.5 billion: The number of people MARTA has transported since 1979
• 5 billion: The number of trips—bus and rail—it's taken to achieve that
• 24,864: The number of jobs supported by MARTA throughout Atlanta
• 95%: The amount MARTA has reduced its emissions by using natural gas to fuel its buses