What happens

when you hold a public open house and there's no public?

Well, the Georgia

Regional Transportation Authority pressed on with outlining its transportation

plans for the region in Fayetteville Tuesday with no one in the audience.

Earlier, three

folks had dropped by to ask questions of the officials, but when it came

time for the presentation, only the media was available.

Despite the

lack of attendance, GRTA's transportation initiatives for Fayette, South

Fulton and Coweta offer interesting options for frustrated commuters.

The first thing

most residents will notice is the new express bus service, scheduled to

debut in Coweta County next year, and possibly in South Fulton in 2006.

The Coweta

route starts on Ga. Highway 34 and travels to Interstate 85, where it

drops passengers at Hartsfield international Airport.

South Fulton's

route will run up the South Fulton Parkway, and also drop residents at

the airport.

But officials

have not given up on Fayette County. On their Regional Transit Action

Plan maps, two bus routes are penciled in for Fayette County in 2006.

The #445 would

take residents from Peachtree City to the airport, via Ga. Highway 74

and Interstate 85, while #442 would transport residents from Fayetteville

to the airport.

Since funding

has not been secured past 2005 for any of the bus routes, the Fayette

routes still remain speculative, said GRTA's manager for external affairs,

Rob Alexander.

The express

bus routes are part of the region's overall goal to provide more transportation

alternatives for the region, said the Atlanta Regional Commission's Jane

Hayes.

"This

will be the blueprint for all our transportation needs," she said.

ARC officials

are updating their own transportation studies to 2030, and are working

closely with GRTA officials to break the logjam of Atlanta's traffic.

of this year, ARC will have updated its plan and have identified projects

that will be funded.

During the

next 25 years, GRTA's leaders will be constantly monitoring traffic flow

and exploring all options for future solutions.

Some solutions,

according to consultant John Morse, could be local bus services, new rail

lines and extension of already operating services.

The key, he

added, is how the region grows, and the density of the various counties.

One transit

element that Fayette County could see this summer is regional van pool

service.

Alexander said

the vans would be 15-seaters and transport residents to the airport. The

vans could be operated by private companies and would provide an alternative

to driving.

Tuesday's open

house was one of 15 the transportation agency is staging in the region.

The next one for southside residents is May 20 from 6 p.m-8 p.m. at Newnan

City hall.

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