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Existing Transit Conditions
The Macon Transit Authority (MTA) operates the public bus system in the City. The system consists of a total of nine bus routes, with seven of the routes serving at least a portion of the study area. Direct service between Mercer and downtown Macon is provided by Route 2 (Bellevue/Log Cabin) and Route 3 (West Macon/Thomaston Road). The bus ride takes approximately 10 minutes to complete. Yearly ridership on the entire MTA system is about 900,000 riders per year. In addition to the public bus system, NewTown Macon runs a trolley service in the neighborhood for Mercer students. Two shuttles, Sweet Melissa and Miss Molly, are offered exclusively to Mercer students Wednesday through Saturdays, between 6:30 pm and 2:30 am. Ridership increases as it gets later in the evening because the service is typically used by students going downtown to eat and drink. A third route, MITSI, primarily catered to tourists and downtown employees, but is no longer in service due to low ridership. Even though transit is available in the College Hill Corridor, it is not a very popular transportation option, especially with students. They feel comfortable riding the trolley to get to the bars downtown, but avoid MTA buses. The unfortunate perception of MTA, as with many public U.S. transit services in communities this size, is that it is poorly run, unsafe, and an inefficient method of travel.
Top to bottom: Benches at Pine and New Streets; bus stop at College and Oglethorpe Streets; and MTA bus along College.
DRAFT College Hill Corridor / Mercer Village Master Plan