Douglas County Transportation Center
Gas prices have fallen over the last couple of days, but if you’ve got a long commute to work or school, your commute costs are probably still more than you’d like to pay. You might want to check out the alternative transportation options you can get through Douglas County’s RideShare program.
Douglas County’s RideShare program provides VanPools, Express Bus Service to major metropolitan destinations, and Carpool matching services to Douglas County residents. The RideShare program was formulated in 1986 and its offices are located in the Douglas County Transportation Center that is behind the Courthouse.
The Transportation Center serves as a multi-modal hub for VanPools, Carpools and Express Bus Service and is open Monday through Friday from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. There are 650 parking spaces for residents who use its services.
VanPools
Douglas County’s RideShare program currently operates 42 daily vanpools to locations throughout the Atlanta metropolitan area. Riders meet vans at central locations scattered throughout the County to be driven to work. Vans drop off and pick up riders near their work destination and return riders to their original departure location.
- Vans depart from central locations throughout the County Monday through Friday some where between 5:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m.
- Vans return to Douglas County some where between 2:30 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.
- Vans accommodate between 7 to 15 riders
- A sample of vanpool pickup locations include Thornton Road, Post Road, Brownsville Road & Hwy 92 (old SaveRite parking lot); Publix at Chapel Hill Road; KMart shopping center parking lot on Hwy 5.
- A sample of vanpool destinations include the Federal Correctional Institute in Talladega, AL; Alpharetta/GA 400; the Atlanta Airport; Buckhead; Downtown Atlanta; Midtown; Cobb County; Decatur; North Druid Hills; Norcross; Perimeter Center.
See the Douglas County Rideshare 2008 Route Schedule to view a current and comprehensive list of vanpool routes.
Costs for vanpool services range from $60 – $108 a month based on the round trip mileage of the commute and related parking costs (if required).
Vans are wheelchair accessible.
Express Bus Service
photo credit: Express Bus by Dedra Morrison
The Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (GRTA) provides express bus service to Douglas County residents Monday through Friday known as XpressGA. Buses are luxury coaches with plenty of legroom, reclining seats, luggage racks, electrical outlets in some cases and reading lamps.
There are two routes that pickup and return to the Douglas County Transportation Center:
- Route 460: Transportation Center to downtown Atlanta
- Five commuter coaches depart the Multi-Modal Transportation Center every morning headed to downtown Atlanta
- Morning departures occur between 5:30 am and 7:30 am in 30 minute increments.
- One morning coach departs Arbor Place Mall at 7:12 am with a stop at the Transportation Center before proceeding to downtown Atlanta
- Riders are dropped off at the following locations:
- Central Ave. at Mitchell St. (Atlanta City Hall)
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. at Peachtree St
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. at Forsyth St
- Forsyth St. at Five Points MARTA Station
- Forsyth St. at Luckie St. (GSU Rialto Theater)
- Peachtree St. at Ellis St. (Georgia Pacific)
- Peachtree St. at Peachtree Center (MARTA entrance)
- Peachtree St. at Baker St. (SunTrust Bldg.)
- Ivan Allen, Jr. Blvd. at Alexander St.
- West Peachtree St. at Civic Center MARTA station.
- Seven commuter coaches return in the afternoon to the Multi-Modal Transportation Center
- Commuter coaches leave the Civic Center MARTA station around from 3:10 pm to 5:45 pm, with subsequent coaches leaving in 15 to 30 minute increments.
- Riders are picked up at the following locations:
- W. Peachtree at Civic Center MARTA Station
- Peachtree St. at Baker St. (SunTrust Bldg.)
- Peachtree St. at Peachtree Center (near MARTA elevator)
- Park Place at Edgewood Avenue (Woodruff Park)
- Pryor St. at Upper Alabama St. (Underground Atlanta)
- Forsyth St. at Martin Luther King, Jr. Federal Center
- Mitchell St. at Central Ave. (Atlanta City Hall)
- Mithcell St. at Washington St.
- Route 460 includes two reverse commute coaches from the Civic Center MARTA Station to the Transportation Center and Arbor Place Mall in the morning and two returning from Douglasville to Civic Center MARTA station in the afternoon.
- Five commuter coaches depart the Multi-Modal Transportation Center every morning headed to downtown Atlanta
- Route 461: Transportation Center to Midtown Atlanta
- Five commuter coaches depart the Multi-Modal Transportation Center every morning headed to Midtown Atlanta
- Riders are dropped off at the following locations:
- Forsyth St. across from MLK, Jr. Federal Center
- Forsyth St. at 5 Points MARTA Station
- West Peachtree St. at Civic Center MARTA station
- West Peachtree at North Avenue MARTA Station (at Ponce de Leon Ave.)
- West Peachtree at 5th St.
- West Peachtree at Peachtree Place (Midtown MARTA station)
- West Peachtree at 14th St.
- West Peachtree at Arts Center MARTA Station
- Spring St. at 17th St.
- Spring St. at 5th St. (Technology Square, GA Tech East Campus)
- Civic Center MARTA Station
- Riders are dropped off at the following locations:
- Five coaches return in the afternoon.
- Riders are picked up at the following locations:
- West Peachtree St. at Civic Center MARTA station
- North Avenue at Ponce de Leon Ave. (MARTA Station)
- West Peachtree at 5th St.
- West Peachtree at Peachtree Place (Midtown MARTA station)
- West Peachtree at 14th St.
- West Peachtree at Arts Center MARTA Station
- Spring St. at 17th St.
- Spring St. at 5th St. (Technology Square, GA Tech East Campus)
- Civic Center MARTA Station
- Pryor St. at Alabama St.
- Forsyth St. at MLK, Jr. Federal Center
- Riders are picked up at the following locations:
- Route 461 includes two reverse commute coaches from the Civic Center MARTA Station to the Transportation Center in the morning and two returning from Douglasville to Civic Center MARTA station in the afternoon.
- Five commuter coaches depart the Multi-Modal Transportation Center every morning headed to Midtown Atlanta
Roundtrip tickets cost $5 and one way tickets cost $3. Senior Citizen discounts are available.
XpressGa provides free transfers to MARTA at any MARTA stations that are served by XpressGA.
Xpress coaches are wheelchair accessible.
For more information on this service, see www.XpressGA.com.
Carpool Matching Services
photo credit: The Atlanta Skyline by Jake Walker
If you commute to locations that are not covered by a vanpool or express bus service, Rideshare offers free carpool matching services:
- Rideshare maintains a list of people who have expressed a desire to carpool and will attempt to match you up with people who work in the same area and who work the same hours as you.
- Rideshare also participates in the Atlanta Regional Commission’s RideSmart program (formerly known as 1-87-Ridefind). RideSmart is a carpool/vanpool referral service that is funded by the Federal Highway Administration, the Georgia DOT and the Atlanta Regional Commission.
If you’d like to use these carpool matching services, call 770.949.7665 to talk to a RideShare Customer Service Representative. You can also register with the RideSmart program.
You and the other parties in the carpool should work out the costs/rules of carpooling beforehand. Things to consider include:
- policies about smoking, music, cellphone use, food & beverages, waiting times, driver/car rotation schedule
- payment & when payment is expected
- vacation/sickness notification
Another carpool resource that is not a part of Douglas County’s Rideshare program that you might check out is the Georgia Carpool Center.
Guaranteed Ride Home
Rideshare provides a Guaranteed Ride Home emergency service to get you home if you have to leave work early or if you miss your return trip home. The Guaranteed Ride Home emergency services provides up to five free taxi rides home each year.
Contact Information
Douglas County Rideshare Staff
- Gary Watson, Director
- Davidae Walker, Assistant Director
- Patricia Lynch, Programs Assistant
- Jerie McGinnis, Customer Service Manager
- Vickie Safford, Customer Service Assistant
- Ira Dorin, Operations/Fleet Manager
Douglas County Multi-Modal Transportation Center
8800 Dorris Road,
Douglasville, Georgia 30134
770.949.7665.