The same coalition of unlikely groups that formed to oppose last week's transportation sales tax, now says it will continue to work together to try to help MARTA.

The transit system would have received $600 million over ten years had the tax passed.

Sen. Vincent Fort (D-Atlanta) says he will continue to work with the NAACP, Tea Party Patriots, and the Sierra help to lift the 50/50 mandate that requires MARTA to split its money between capital improvements and operations.

“There is no other transit agency in the country, no other transit agency in Georgia that operates under such a burden,” he says.

The coalition also supports a referendum in Clayton County to allow it to become part of the transit system alongside Fulton and DeKalb counties.  Voters there would decide whether or not to tax themselves.

“Clayton County is ready for MARTA, they expressed overwhelming support for it in 2010 and we look forward to talking with Clayton County commissioners about how to get that on the ballot,” says the Sierra Club’s Colleen Kiernan.

Fort is also calling for revenue for Atlanta’s hotel/motel tax to be used as a funding source for MARTA.  He says the city needs to help fund its transit system more than it needs a new stadium.

As for criticism by Gov. Nathan Deal that MARTA needs to be fixed before any more money comes its way, Fort says the transit system does the best it can with the small amount of resources it has.

“MARTA is a good steward of the people’s money, for the most part,” he says.