MARTA Brings Driver Training In-House at Lakewood
Atlanta employers tracking shift labor should note the new five-week driver cohort aimed at cutting overtime costs.
Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in Employment
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MARTA opened a new operations training center at its Lakewood station on Monday, November 2, 2026, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The center is designed to train new bus and rail operators locally rather than relying on outside testing.
Why it matters
MARTA's on-time performance has lagged below its 78% threshold and the agency ran $109 million over budget in 2025, with overtime pay tied to driver shortages. Bringing training in-house addresses the manpower gap that underlies both problems.
MARTA ran $109 million over budget in 2025, with overtime pay from driver shortages a major contributor. The Lakewood center will train 15 new drivers every five weeks against a 78% on-time performance benchmark the agency has been missing.
The players
Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA)
Atlanta's regional public transit agency, operating heavy rail, bus, and paratransit service across the metro area and facing staffing and budget pressure on operator ranks.
The details
MARTA is moving driver training to the Lakewood station operations training center, which previously hosted training into the 1980s. Testing currently happens through a contractor in Georgia Piedmont, and the new center is intended to reduce that reliance. Each cohort of 15 drivers entering every five weeks is expected to add operators to the schedule and cut the overtime that has been driving costs.
Timeline
Monday, November 2, 2026: MARTA holds the ribbon-cutting for the Lakewood training center.
October 2026: MARTA announces it finished 2025 $109 million over budget.
2025: Fiscal year in which the overrun occurred.
Into the 1980s: MARTA last trained drivers at the Lakewood station.
Market Landscape
The move brings MARTA back to a model it used before the 1980s, when driver training was done in-house at Lakewood. It reflects a broader pattern of transit agencies building internal training capacity to offset chronic operator shortages.
Atlanta employers in transit and other shift-based operations should watch how the training pipeline affects labor availability and overtime costs over the coming months. Operators who depend on contracted testing or outside training may want to compare their own onboarding timelines against the five-week cohort cycle.
The takeaway
The key operating signal is that MARTA is trying to fix its budget and on-time problems at the source by growing its own operator pipeline. Track whether the 15-driver, five-week cohort rate translates into lower overtime spending in the agency's next budget filings.
Further reading
For broader context on staffing trends, see the Employment section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Atlantanewsfirst.
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