CobbLinc
| Founded | July 1989 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | 463 Commerce Park Dr. Marietta, Georgia |
| Service area | Cobb County (some stops in Fulton) |
| Service type | transit bus, paratransit, express bus service |
| Routes | 17 |
| Daily ridership | 10,392 (2005 est.) |
| Annual ridership | 4,598,500 (2011) [1] |
| Fuel type | |
| Operator | Cobb County |
| Website | www |
CobbLinc (formerly Cobb Community Transit) is the bus public transit system in Cobb County, Georgia, one of metro Atlanta's three most populous suburban counties. Formed in July 1989 as Cobb Community Transit,[2] CobbLinc operates a network of bus routes, on-demand transit, and paratransit.
History
Along with Gwinnett, Cobb County voted against joining MARTA in 1971, and thus was left out of the system. In 1985, Cobb County began working with the Atlanta Regional Commission to study the feasibility of operating a transit system in the county.[3] Local funding the for the bus system was narrowly approved by a special referendum in 1987.[4] The system began operations as Cobb Community Transit (CCT) on June 10, 1989.[5] The initial system had five local routes and one commuter route to Arts Center station on the MARTA rail network.[5]
CCT was very successful in its first year, carrying four times as many riders as projected.[6] In 1999, business leaders approved funding to study a light rail line from the Cumberland Mall area to the Town Center area.[7] In May 2010, Cobb's Board of Commissioners approved further funding to plan the line, which would be approximately 14.5 miles (23.3 km) long with seven stations.[8] A cross-suburb line over to Gwinnett County has also been proposed, intersecting with a future extended MARTA north line between Roswell and Sandy Springs in Fulton County.
Cobb began operating GRTA Xpress bus service in 2005.[9]
The Board of Commissioners approved the rebranding of CCT to CobbLinc in September 2015, with the first buses with the new branding being delivered in 2016.[10] In 2024, Cobb County put a referendum for an $11 billion Special-purpose local-option sales tax to fund "rapid" bus routes, new transit centers, and a county-wide microtransit system. However, the referendum failed with 62% of voters opposing the tax.[11][12]
Operation
CobbLinc has two hubs. Marietta Transfer Center is along South Marietta Parkway in Marietta, just west of the former Southern Polytechnic State University now the Marietta campus of Kennesaw State University. The second hub, Cumberland Transfer Center, is located adjacent to Cumberland Mall. Routes connect to the most populated areas of the county, including Mableton and Kennesaw. Express routes also operate down to Atlanta, connecting with MARTA at Arts Center station. Transfers are free between MARTA and CobbLinc, though both transit agencies charge the same fare ($2.50) with a Breeze Card. CobbLinc's annual operating budget is about $12.9 million (2004), from fares and the general county budget, as well as Federal grants.
All buses make automatic announcements inside the bus of upcoming stops and major roads, and stop requests from passengers. External announcements are also made by voice, in addition to the normal electronic signs. Some buses also run on compressed natural gas rather than diesel. Buses are maintained at the CobbLinc operations center, which is located on the same site as the Marietta Transfer Center.[13]
Services
Most bus routes begin and end at the Marietta Transfer Center, though several operate from the Cumberland Boulevard Transfer Center.
Routes
| Route[14] | Terminals | Major streets traveled | Service notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Circulator Blue | Cumberland
Cumberland Transfer Center |
↺ | Cumberland Loop | Counterclockwise Loop:
Cumberland Boulevard, Cobb Galleria Parkway, Akers Mill Road, Cobb Parkway, Circle 75 Parkway, Windy Ridge Parkway |
|
| Rapid 10 | Kennesaw | ↔ | Midtown Atlanta | I-75, Cobb Parkway | |
| 10 | Marietta
Marietta Transfer Center |
↔ | Cobb Parkway, I-75 | ||
| 15 | ↔ | Cumberland
Cumberland Transfer Center |
Roswell Street, Powder Springs Street, Windy Hill Road, Circle 75 Parkway | ||
| 20 | ↔ | South Cobb Drive, Cumberland Parkway | |||
| 25 | Cumberland
Cumberland Transfer Center |
↔ | Adamsville | Spring Road, Maxham Road, Old Alabama Road, I-20 | |
| 30 | Marietta
Marietta Transfer Center |
↔ | Austell Road, Floyd Road, I-20 | ||
| 40 | Kennesaw
Kennesaw State University |
↔ | Marietta
Marietta Transfer Center |
Busbee Drive, Bells Ferry Road, Church Street/Cherokee Street, Roswell Street | |
| 45 | ↔ | Ernest Barrett Parkway, Cobb Parkway, Fairgrounds Street | |||
| 50 | Marietta
Marietta Transfer Center |
↔ | Cumberland
Cumberland Transfer Center |
Franklin Gateway, Delk Road, Powers Ferry Road, Akers Mill Road | |
CobbLinc Go
CobbLinc Go is an on-demand transit service available in Austell and Powder Springs. The pilot service launched in November 2024 and is operated by Via Transportation using vans.[15]
References
- ^ "2012 Public Transportation Fact Book Appendix B: Transit Agency and Urbanized Area Operating Statistics" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. February 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 23, 2018. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
- ^ "Transit Division | Cobb County Georgia". www.cobbcounty.org. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
- ^ Weiss, Ray (March 26, 1985). "ARC to study outlook for Cobb bus service". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. pp. A14. NewsBank 0EB7C16E57BB1D88.
- ^ Stepp, Diane R. (June 10, 1987). "Cobb voters narrowly approve county's first transit system - Turnout low; measure carries 51.5 percent". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. pp. A1. NewsBank 0EB7C2C01BEA7C80.
- ^ a b Jenkins, McKay (June 10, 1989). "Cobb County's New Transit System Rolls Out First 17 Buses". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. pp. A1. NewsBank 0EB7C3EAD61D8537.
- ^ Torpy, Bill (1990). "Figures roll in: New Cobb buses 4 times as popular as predicted". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. pp. D6. NewsBank 0EB7C48A58C8D53F.
- ^ Schenke, Jarred (May 20, 1999). "'Good first step' Barnes touts $2.8M mall-to-mall rail study". Marietta Daily Journal. NewsBank 11DB060E74E37978.
- ^ "VISIONS Light Rail" (PDF). dot.cobbcountyga.gov. May 5, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 14, 2010. Retrieved July 3, 2010.
- ^ Joyner, Alex P. (December 28, 2004). "Powder Springs to get Xpress route New bus service to begin Jan. 3 in south Cobb". Marietta Daily Journal. NewsBank 11CC25AA96B078C0.
- ^ Cunningham, Carolyn (February 17, 2016). "CCT buses now will be known as CobbLinc". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved October 6, 2025 – via NewsBank.
- ^ Riggall, Hunter (November 12, 2024). "Why Did Cobb's Transit Tax Go Down in Flames?". Marietta Daily Journal. NewsBank 19CD2DCD30C371B8.
- ^ DiRienzo, Rob (November 6, 2024). "Voters reject public transportation expansion in two metro Atlanta counties". Fox 5 Atlanta. Retrieved March 11, 2026.
- ^ Widmer, Jeffrey (June 1, 2001). "CCT celebrates opening of new operations center". Marietta Daily Journal. NewsBank 11DB04C8FA3C0520.
- ^ "Routes and Schedules | Cobb County Georgia". www.cobbcounty.gov. Retrieved January 25, 2026.
- ^ Donnelly, Grace (November 1, 2024). "Cobb County launches microtransit pilot program". SaportaReport. Retrieved October 6, 2025.