By Anxious MARTA in transfers — Oct 29, 2024

What is a transfer?

The Simple Answer

A transfer is a mechanism to get credit for paying for a trip from one ride to the next. This is how you pay $2.50 for a train and bus ride on the same trip.

There are no transfers between trains. When you're on a train, you can just ride it around all day without paying more.

There are no transfers to or from the Streetcar.

The More Complicated Answer

Transfers can be very confusing. It might take some time to figure out how they work in the real world.

Let's define some words.

trip - your journey from point A to point B.
ride - a segment of your trip on a train or bus
direction - a very unclear term that generally means you're going out or coming back

Transfers are good for a trip in a direction. If you're going from your hotel near Piedmont Park to the Georgia Aquarium, you might take the 36 bus to Midtown Station then a Red Line to Peachtree Center Station to get there. You tap your card when you get on the bus, then, when you tap to get on the train, you don't pay again thanks to your transfer.

When you're done at the aquarium and head back, you pay $2.50 at the train then get a transfer to the bus. This is where direction comes into play. You pay on the way out and then again on the way back. Your fare doesn't cover a round trip.

If you pay with cash on the bus, you'll have to ask the drive for a transfer when you get off since there's no way to track your progress on the trip.

You get up to 4 transfers in a 3-hour window. This means that you can live way out on the edge of the city somewhere, take a bus to a second bus to a train to a bus to another bus to get to your destination.

Transfers are valid for any transit service that uses the Breeze Card. For example, CobbLinc has a bus route to Arts Center Station and Ride Gwinnett has a bus route to Indian Creek Station. Since both of these services use the Breeze Card system, you get transfers to and from MARTA.

Use the same ticket/pass/card between rides or you won't get a transfer.

The Details

Transfers are done automatically if you use a ticket, pass, or card. When you leave the station, the little display should say something about a transfer so that you know you're good.

The Breeze Mobile app shows transactions, including any transfers.