MARTA vs driving to the airport, I finally timed both and the gap shocked me
So I had a 7am flight out of ATL two weeks ago and decided to actually test this instead of just guessing. I drove myself and parked in the economy lot off Camp Creek, which ran me $14 a day plus the shuttle wait. Door to gate took me about 55 minutes total, and that was with a light traffic morning around 5am. Coming back I took MARTA from the airport station to Midtown, and even with my bags and a transfer at Five Points it was right at 35 minutes and cost me $2.50. The train was clean, nobody bothered me, and I didn't have to deal with the parking deck ramp or losing my car on level 4. The only catch is you gotta leave earlier than you think on the way out, cause the Gold Line isn't running as often late at night. Now I'm second guessing if I should just do MARTA both ways next trip. Has anyone done the long-term parking at the airport station lot and is it worth it?
That bit about "leave earlier than you think" is the real lesson here. A buddy of mine tried the airport station lot for a week-long trip and it went fine going out, but coming back his flight landed after midnight and the lot shuttle had stopped running for the night. He ended up paying for a rideshare back to the lot just to get his car, which ate up whatever he saved on parking. So the lot itself is fine and cheaper than the economy deck, but check the shuttle hours against your return time before you commit. If your flight home gets in late, the train plus a short walk to your car still beats the deck ramp in my book.