MARTA’s New App Debuts the Day Federal Train Shooting Charges Land

MARTA rolled out a redesigned mobile app with real-time tracking and built-in incident reporting on June 9, 2026, the same day federal prosecutors charged a 42-year-old man with shooting a 17-year-old aboard a Midtown train. The launch lands five days into a federal safety investigation of the Atlanta transit agency. It is six days before Atlanta hosts its first FIFA World Cup match.

The App Lands

MARTA described the new platform as a major step forward in a press release dated June 9. The redesign was built by Reflexions, a digital product studio the agency calls a leading partner in civic technology. The work runs on the Open Trip Planner open-source platform, the kind other transit agencies use to deliver standards-based rider information.

Built-in incident reporting is the feature that sets this launch apart from a routine app refresh. Riders can send safety concerns and incident reports directly to MARTA police and service teams from the main app, replacing a separate See & Say download.

The app supports eight non-English languages: Spanish, Chinese (Traditional and Simplified), Tagalog, Vietnamese, Korean, French, and Arabic. The agency said accessibility was the core design principle, with multi-language support added so non-English speakers could use the app. The new Breeze fare system, which lets riders tap a credit card or mobile wallet to pay, went live March 28, 2026, and a future version of the new app will tie trip planning to that account.

MARTA is committed to improving the customer experience, whether it’s on our buses and trains, or when riders use our website or apps. These new digital tools will provide our riders the most accurate, timely information possible, whether they’re a daily commuter or a first-time visitor to Atlanta.

That is Interim General Manager and CEO Jonathan Hunt, in MARTA’s June 9 press release announcing the launch. The release also describes the launch as the first phase of a broader digital refresh that will include a full MARTA website redesign.

The Same Day a Federal Case Was Unsealed

Hours after the app went live, federal prosecutors in Atlanta charged Anthony Tyrone Gresham, 42, with three counts tied to the June 5 shooting at MARTA’s Midtown station. The counts include committing an act of violence with intent to cause serious bodily injury on a mass transportation system, possession of ammunition by a convicted felon, and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. Bullets struck the teenager in his left hand and leg, FOX 5 Atlanta reported.

Gresham was arrested in Douglas County on Sunday after a two-day manhunt that started when he ran from the station. FBI Atlanta’s Marlo Graham tied the case to broader rider safety in a written statement: ‘Violence will not be tolerated on MARTA. The citizens of Metro Atlanta and our visitors deserve a safe and secure transportation system.’ It is the second federal prosecution tied to a violent incident on MARTA in a week, following charges against John Elijah Matthews, 25, in the fatal stabbing of 66-year-old Margaret Swan on May 30. An initial federal hearing date has not been announced.

Five Days Earlier, the FTA Opened a Probe

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy directed the Federal Transit Administration to investigate MARTA on June 4, 2026, according to the FTA’s June 4 announcement of the investigation. The probe was triggered by the Swan stabbing on May 30 and a separate stabbing at the Georgia State MARTA station on May 24.

Duffy said in a statement that ‘every American should be disturbed by the horrific crimes we have seen on MARTA in the last month.’ The FTA announcement cited MARTA’s rate of personal security events, including assaults, robberies, and rapes against riders and employees, at nearly twice the national average. On MARTA’s rail lines, that rate is three-and-a-half times higher than the national average, the FTA said.

The FTA has given MARTA 15 days to hand over its 2026 and 2027 fiscal year budgets, crime and fare-evasion mitigation plans, and data on transit-worker assaults. Staff will assess MARTA’s compliance with federal Public Transportation Agency Safety Plans and review mitigations the agency has put in place since FTA’s General Directive 24-1 in September 2024. The agency has also been told to disclose all safety-directed funding from non-FTA federal entities, including the Department of Homeland Security. Separately, FTA will independently evaluate the effectiveness of MARTA’s Safety Risk Reduction Program as it relates to assaults on transit workers.

MARTA welcomed the review the same day. In a statement after Duffy’s announcement, the agency said it looked forward to sharing ‘the hard work that the MARTA team puts in every day as well as the significant investments in personnel, technology, and operational measures.’ MARTA police have also pushed back on the federal framing, pointing to a 26% drop in crime between 2024 and 2025, and the 15-day clock runs out around June 19, four days after the World Cup’s first Atlanta match.

Riders Have Been Asking for This

Riders who spoke to CBS Atlanta on the day of the launch said the new features line up with what they have been asking MARTA to fix. Jonathan Orton, a regular rider, told the station there are ‘unexplained delays and cancellations sometimes’ and that the system ‘can be uncomfortable or feel unsafe,’ though nothing traumatic has happened to him.

Trayshun Peeks pointed at the real-time arrivals specifically, calling out the experience of ‘sitting at the train station for like an hour and some change, whole time the train is delayed.’ Peeks said ‘a lot of people getting shot and stabbed’ makes the safety reporting a priority. Both riders’ complaints map directly onto what the FTA said it is investigating: rider experience, delay information, and incident response. The new app gives them a single, official place to file the kind of report that previously required a separate download and a separate workflow.

Eight Matches, Six Days Out

Atlanta is hosting eight FIFA World Cup matches at Atlanta Stadium, the first of which is Spain vs. Cape Verde on June 15. CBS Atlanta reports an estimated 300,000 tourists are expected to flood the downtown area across the tournament’s run from June 15 through July 15. MARTA is positioning itself as the default way to get to the matches, with details in MARTA’s official World Cup transit guide; trains will run every five minutes from start of service to 10:30 p.m. on match days, with a flat $2.50 fare.

• June 15: Spain vs. Cape Verde (Group H)
• June 18: South Africa vs. Czechia (Group A)
• June 21: Spain vs. Saudi Arabia (Group H)
• June 24: Morocco vs. Haiti (Group C)
• June 27: Uzbekistan vs. Congo DR (Group K)
• July 1: Round of 32 (Match 80)
• July 7: Round of 16 (Match 95)
• July 15: Semifinal (Match 102)

The three MARTA stations that serve the stadium are SEC District, Vine City, and Five Points. Riders using the new app will see real-time train tracking for all three, plus system alerts, the agency said. MARTA is also rolling out Transit Ambassadors in white MARTA-branded soccer jerseys to direct World Cup riders to the stadium and fan areas. Free daily parking is available at 23 MARTA rail stations for fans coming from outside the city.

The first match is six days from the app launch. MARTA is betting that a clean, modern app experience and a five-minute headway plan will be enough to absorb a global crowd onto a system the federal government is now actively investigating.

What the App Doesn’t Have

The new app is not yet a one-stop rider account. Fare payment through the Breeze system remains a separate app and card, with the integration put off until a future version. Riders who want to tap a credit card or mobile wallet for the $2.50 ride still download the Better Breeze app on its own, with the Breeze side of the launch detailed in the March 28 announcement of the new Breeze system. The press release also describes the launch as the first phase of a broader digital refresh, with a full MARTA website redesign still to come.

For the next two weeks, the new app’s biggest test is not a feature list. It is whether the integration with MARTA police works as smoothly in practice as the press release says it will, and whether riders download it in the numbers the agency needs before kickoff. The first World Cup match in Atlanta is six days away.

Frequently Asked Questions

When did MARTA’s new app launch?

MARTA’s redesigned mobile app and web-based rider tools launched on June 9, 2026. The free download is available on iOS and Android, with a companion tool at itsmarta.com/ride for riders who do not want to install a separate app.

What features does the new MARTA app include?

The app offers real-time train and bus tracking powered by MARTA’s GTFS feeds, trip planning, system-wide service alerts, and integrated incident reporting that routes safety concerns directly to MARTA police. It runs on the Open Trip Planner open-source platform, supports eight non-English languages, and is designed for accessibility as a starting principle.

Did the new MARTA app replace See & Say?

Yes. The incident-reporting function that used to live in the separate See & Say app is now built into the main MARTA app, letting riders send safety concerns and incident reports to MARTA police from a single download.

Why is there a federal investigation into MARTA?

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy directed the Federal Transit Administration to investigate MARTA on June 4, 2026, after two attacks on the system in a week: a fatal stabbing on May 30 and a non-fatal stabbing on May 24. The FTA cited MARTA’s rate of personal security events at nearly twice the national average and three-and-a-half times higher on rail lines.

How will MARTA handle World Cup match days?

MARTA plans to run trains every five minutes from the start of service through 10:30 p.m. on World Cup match days, with a $2.50 fare paid via Breeze card, credit card, or mobile wallet. Three stations, SEC District, Vine City, and Five Points, connect directly to Atlanta Stadium, and Transit Ambassadors in white MARTA-branded soccer jerseys will direct riders.