A representative

of the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority will explain GRTA's plan

to run an express bus service in Fayette during the County Commission's

meeting this afternoon.

Jim Ritchey,

GRTA deputy director, will brief the board on proposal during the meeting

at 3:30 p.m. at the County Administrative Complex.

County Commission

Chairman Greg Dunn has made no secret of his opinion that Fayette is the

wrong place for express bus service.

"One size

does not fit all," Dunn told state transportation officials during

a recent briefing on overall transportation plans, including th e

bus service.

Local officials

also are concerned that the county may be forced to accept the bus service

in order to receive any federal funds for transportation improvements.

Maintaining

the bus service may cost Fayette a million dollars a year or more, and

Fayette residents could be tapped for MARTA dues as well, Dunn said.

GRTA proposes

to run express buses up Ga. highways 85 and 74, connecting to the MARTA

system at Hartsfield Airport.

But with no

expressways or express lanes, there won't be anything "express"

about the buses, Dunn predicts. "How is an express bus going to get

out of Fayette County any faster than a car?" he said, adding he

doesn't think many local residents would use the system.

"I told

them we just had a private bus company go out of business on those two

routes," he said.

But GRTA officials

are adamant in pushing all metro Atlanta counties to accept bus routes.

The agency would provide the buses using federal money, but would not

subsidize their operation, Dunn said.

In addition,

because the buses would connect to MARTA, which is in financial trouble,

the transit authority would then be justified in demanding that Fayette

and other counties begin contributing to the system's operation, Dunn

said.

As for the

road funds being offered as part of the bus deal, Dunn said the money

won't help Fayette finish projects that are not yet approved by the Atlanta

Regional Commission. With right-of-way purchases and engineering not yet

begun, the county probably won't be able to take advantage of the funding,

he said.

"But I

have not yet been able to make any progress in making them see that Fayette

County should not have to take these buses in order to have access to

our own tax dollars," he said.

The Atlanta

region's rush toward more bus and rail service doesn't make sense in the

long run either, Dunn argued. "Every other large city has already

done all this and they all have gridlock," he said.