Athens Transit

Athens Transit is a public bus system in Athens, Georgia, United States. The system was started in 1976, and today 20 routes operate throughout the city. The whole system is fare free.[4] Most bus routes have the buses stop at a given location once per hour during operating hours.

Athens Transit

Old logo used by Athens Transit (until 2018)
Founded	1976
Headquarters	Athens, Georgia, United States
Service area	Athens-Clarke County
Service type	Fixed-Route ("The Bus") On-Demand Paratransit ("The Lift")
Routes	18
Stops	500 [1]
Hubs	Athens Multi-Modal Transportation Center (primary) Georgia Square Mall North Ave. Piggly Wiggly
Lounge	Athens Multi-Modal Transportation Center
Daily ridership	6,905 during UGA school year, 4,291 May–July[2]
Fuel type	Diesel
Operator	Unified Government of Athens-Clarke County[3]
Unified City/County Government	Unified Government of Athens-Clarke County[3]
Website	http://www.athenstransit.com

Most routes are designed as loops, with outbound buses on a given route not returning on the same streets. This can prove confusing, but major streets generally have two routes serving them: one outbound, and one inbound. Most routes terminate at the Athens Multi-Modal Transportation Center, which was built in 2006 on a brownfield near the North Oconee River. The Multi-Modal Center was a winner of the 2007 Innovative Design in Engineering and Architecture award from the American Institute of Steel Construction, and it is designed to accommodate a future "Brain Train" to Atlanta.[5]

Athens Transit and UGA Campus Transit buses were part of an early trial of biodiesel fuel during the 1996 Olympics.[6]

Athens Transit was formerly known as "The Bus" but in 2018 it was changed to its current branding as "Athens-Clarke County Transit" as it was one of the few remaining A-CC services that did not refer to "Athens-Clarke" in its name.