MARTA to close open gates and require riders to pay fares starting Saturday

Starting this weekend, MARTA passengers will be required to pay to ride as the agency fully activates its new Breeze fare gates systemwide.

In a notice, MARTA said the temporary grace period that kept some gates and emergency doors open since May 2 will end Saturday, May 30. The extension had been put in place to give riders extra time to obtain new Breeze cards during the transition.

"The installation of our better Breeze system was not as far along as we'd hoped at the end of the customer transition period on May 2, so for the last several weeks, we have left open gates and doors to ensure riders could easily access the system," MARTA Interim General Manager and CEO Jonathan Hunt said in a statement. "Now, with the installation of more ticket vending machines systemwide, we feel we've made significant enough progress to close these open gates and doors and begin requiring fare."

Beginning Saturday, customers will be required to tap a bank card, mobile wallet, new Breeze card, or ticket to enter rail stations with the updated system. At stations where installation is still underway, some older fare gates or emergency doors will remain open to maintain access.

MARTA said customers should be prepared to pay to avoid being locked in or out of stations during the transition period.

The agency is also reminding riders that old Breeze cards and the Breeze Mobile 2.0 app are no longer accepted. Riders with remaining balances on older cards can transfer funds at breezecard.com. MARTA added that the new Breeze Mobile app is not used for fare payment, but instead for account management and fare loading.

Customers seeking reduced fare assistance can visit MARTA headquarters in Atlanta, Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.