Is it safe to ride MARTA?
The Simple Answer
Yes.
The More Complicated Answer
Even the more complicated answer is “yes.” Do crimes occur on MARTA? Yes. Are they violent crimes? Not usually.
According to the statistics on this page, most crimes on MARTA are larceny – stealing stuff. At the February 8, 2024, MARTA Board Meeting, MARTA Police Chief Kreher gave a great presentation on the statistics for the last year or so. It’s worth listening.
I have absolutely no problems with safety on MARTA. I will fully admit that I’m 6’7″ and 260 pounds, and my stature may have an effect on my experiences. I don’t think I’ve ever even seen an incident in all my hours riding MARTA, though.
The Details
We need to establish some boundaries here. Riding MARTA is safe. The stations are safe. The trains are safe. The buses are safe. The streets outside of a station may not be. Those are not controlled by MARTA and don’t come under the jurisdiction of MARTA PD.
There are homeless people on the trains and buses, and there are riders with mental illness. Do they make people uncomfortable? Yes. Do they affect your safety? Probably not, so don’t treat these people like criminals since they’ve done nothing to you.