Cobb County Transit System:
Currently, there are 19 major routes that the CCT services. Most of these routes service areas between Cumberland Mall (located very close to the Fulton/ Cobb County line), and Town Center Mall, which is the hub of activity near Kennesaw State University. The main thoroughfare is Cobb Parkway, also known as Highway 41. U.S. Highway 41 is essentially a north-to-south United States highway that runs from Michigan, all the way to Florida. With this in mind, the Cobb County Transit department established routes which are central to this highway, but are limited to Cobb County. Throughout the county, the routes transport passengers around and through the many business parks and apartment communities all over Cobb County.
This transportation system has been proven to be a God-send to those who are trying to conserve gas, and to those who do not possess vehicles. The CCT’s daily routes begin as early as 5am, and typically end somewhere around midnight. Cobb County’s transit system has also consistently maintained a cheaper rate for travel than MARTA (and other transit systems). Those living in the Cobb County areas, which happen to work in Fulton County, are able to use the CCT to connect to Fulton’s MARTA system. Currently there are at least three different routes which deposit CCT riders into the Woodruff Arts Center Station. It is at this station where riders can pick up MARTA routes.
Unfortunately, there are some definite cons to Cobb County’s transit system. One of the main caveats is that the CCT does not run on Sundays at all. This has disgruntled many Cobb residents who happen to work on Sunday, but don’t have their own transportation. (Visitors to the website www.cobbdot.org will also notice that there is no explanation on the main webpage for the omission of Sunday service.) Furthermore, it seems that Cobb County’s public transit system is a bit biased in WHICH Cobb residents they want to serve, as there is NO CCT service to the more western parts of the community. Those who live in these more rural areas sometimes become frustrated that they must drive a good distance just to reach a Park-N-Ride CCT lot. While there have been many new routes added to the system over the years, many will also argue that the routes are too staggered. Some routes even have as much as 40 minutes to an hour between pick-up and drop-off times. This point of contention is raised when CCT riders grumble about the failure of CCT developers to expand the routes in accordance with the rapid growth of Cobb’s housing communities. Another conflict riders face is the county’s lack of pedestrian sidewalks. With communities (and some routes) expanding, it seems that much of the county is not pedestrian-friendly. Sidewalks are often comprised of the beaten footpaths of the hundreds of CCT riders who’ve been forced to create their own pedestrian walkways.
While the county has grown in the number of housing developments and strip malls, there seem to be fewer and fewer accommodations being made to facilitate a smooth and comfortable commute to Cobb County’s highly trafficked areas. Even multiple connections to MARTA don’t seem to compensate for the CCT’s rather antiquated system of transit developments. While many claim that the CCT is a convenient way to be squired around the county, many CCT passengers feel that it is nothing more than a glorified shuttle service that caters to a specific demographic. While the Cobb County Transit system is certainly a step in the right direction toward servicing its citizens, the county would do well to expand its routes, at the very least to ALL areas of the county it is supposed to service.
