Atlanta transit agency to provide free shuttles to Carter Center for viewing of former president
Published in News & Features
ATLANTA — The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority announced it will provide free shuttles from King Memorial Station for anyone wishing to visit The Carter Presidential Center this weekend as former President Jimmy Carter lies in repose.
The former president died Sunday at 100 years old. He will be buried in Plains next to his wife of 77 years, Rosalynn Carter, who died in November 2023.
“MARTA joins the country in mourning the loss of our longest-living president and Georgia’s native son,” MARTA General Manager and CEO Collie Greenwood said in a statement. “President Carter led a life of service, and his dedication to human and civil rights changed us for the better. MARTA is especially grateful for his leadership in bringing public transportation plans to fruition in metro Atlanta, and we are proud to help pay tribute to him.”
During Carter’s time as governor, voters passed a 1% sales tax to help fund MARTA operations.
The state funeral procession will begin Saturday morning, when a motorcade with Carter’s remains will set out from Americus in southwest Georgia, according to details released Monday.
The motorcade will stop in Plains before continuing to Atlanta, where it will stop at the state Capitol. The former president’s body will then be transported to the nearby Carter Presidential Center, where he will lie in repose and mourners can pay their respects from Saturday night until Tuesday morning.
MARTA said anyone wishing to pay their respect to the former president must take a shuttle unless they are walking or biking to The Carter Center. Shuttles will depart from King Memorial Station every three to five minutes starting at 6 p.m. Saturday through 6 a.m. Tuesday.
Rail service to King Memorial Station will operate continuously for 60 hours. The shuttles to The Carter Center will be free, but the fare to ride to King Memorial Station will not be free.
There is no public parking available at King Memorial Station. Bus routes 816, 9, 809 and 899 will be rerouted starting Saturday afternoon through early Tuesday morning.
No backpacks, bags, purses, clutches or camera bags are allowed on the buses or at The Carter Center, with the exception for diaper bags.
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