BALTIMORE – The Maryland Department of Transportation Maryland Transit Administration today announced proposed reductions in Commuter Bus service. The agency will hold a series of public hearings and a 30-day public review and comment period on the proposed reductions, with changes set to go into effect on Monday, July 1, 2024. The service reduction is in response to the unprecedented structural financial deficit in state transportation funding, recently announced by the Department of Transportation. An additional infusion of funding allocated by Governor Moore from the Fiscal Year 2025 budget proposal will enable the Maryland Transit Administration to maintain Commuter Bus service at a reduced level rather than eliminate it in its entirety.
“We recognize that the Commuter Bus service reduction will have a significant impact on many Marylanders,” said Maryland Transit Administrator Holly Arnold. “We encourage riders to visit our website to learn about alternate transit options.”
The Maryland Transit Administration’s Commuter Bus service connects riders traveling from the suburbs to job centers in the metropolitan Baltimore and Washington, D.C. region. Pre-pandemic, Commuter Bus operated 635 trips across 36 routes, with an average daily ridership of 12,000. Post-pandemic, Commuter Bus operates 599 trips across 36 routes, with average daily ridership of 5,100, or 43% of the pre-pandemic average daily ridership.
The proposed changes focus on maintaining access across all regions where Commuter Bus currently operates. The agency used ridership data and considered equity and both existing and potential access when creating the service reduction plan.
The proposed service changes would discontinue service on the following eight routes:
203 – Columbia to Bethesda
220 – Annapolis to Washington, D.C.
240 – Kent Island to Washington, D.C.
260 – Severna Park & Davidsonville to Washington, D.C.
410 – Churchville to Baltimore
411 – Hickory to Hopkins Hospital/Baltimore
810 – Pindell to Washington, D.C.
850 – Prince Frederick/Dunkirk to Suitland/Washington, D.C.
The proposed service changes would reduce the total number of trips on the following 26 routes:
201–Gaithersburg Park & Ride to BWI Marshall Airport
204 – Frederick to College Park
210 – Kent Island to Annapolis/Baltimore
230 – Annapolis/Severna Park to Washington, D.C.
305 – Columbia/Silver Spring to Washington, D.C.
310 – Columbia to Baltimore
315 – Columbia/Silver Spring to Washington, D.C.
320 – Laurel to Baltimore
325 – Columbia/Silver Spring to Washington, D.C.
335 – Clarksville/Columbia to Washington, D.C.
345 – Ellicott City/Columbia to Washington, D.C.
420 – Hickory to Hopkins Hospital/Baltimore
505 – Hagerstown to Shady Grove/Rock Spring
515 – Frederick to Shady Grove/Rock Spring
610 – Waldorf to Washington, D.C.
620 – Waldorf to Washington, D.C.
630 – La Plata/Waldorf to Washington, D.C.
640 – Waldorf/Accokeek to Washington, D.C.
650 – La Plata, Waldorf /Accokeek to Washington, D.C.
705 – Charlotte Hall/Waldorf to Washington, D.C.
715 – Charlotte Hall/Waldorf to Washington, D.C.
725 – California/Charlotte Hall to Washington, D.C.
735 – Charlotte Hall/Waldorf to Washington, D.C.
820 – North Beach/PG Equestrian Center to Washington, D.C.
830 – Sunderland/Dunkirk to Washington, D.C.
840 – St. Leonard/ Prince Frederick to Washington, D.C.
The proposed service changes would not affect the following two routes:
215 – Baltimore to Annapolis
250 – Kent Island/Davidson to Washington, D.C.
The agency will hold five public hearings (three virtual and two in-person) on the proposed changes between March 18 and March 27 and will accept public comments through April 29, 2024. Riders and interested parties can visit mta.maryland.gov/commuter-bus2024 for dates, times and information about how to participate in a public hearing.
The website also includes the complete list of proposed service modifications and information on the various ways to submit a comment. The service change proposal will also be available in the lobby of the Maryland Transit Administration headquarters at 6 St. Paul St., Baltimore, MD. Riders needing additional information can call the Transit Information Contact Center at 410-539-5000.
The Maryland Transit Administration is one of the largest multi-modal transit systems in the United States, and operates local and commuter buses, Light Rail, Metro Subway, MARC Train service and a comprehensive Mobility paratransit system. The goal of the Maryland Transit Administration is to provide safe, efficient and reliable transit across Maryland with world-class customer service. To learn more, visit mta.maryland.gov, check us out on Facebook or YouTube and follow us on Twitter/X.
The three routes in St. Mary’s (705, 715, and 725) should be off the table (and a few to Charles). Since we have no other transportation choices like PG, Montgomery, Baltimore and other counties, we should not get impacted by Hogans bad policies. Don’t give me a lecture about living closer to the city- if you can afford housing around DC then do it. Most of us can’t afford them. We need the bus service here until the state brings rail service to St. Mary’s. I mean, they run MARC trains to WV.
the gas tax doesn’t fund the transportation budget? I’m speaking of the undisclosed gas tax at the pump, above 30 but under 50 c/. mmmm
https://www.marylandtaxes.gov/forms/compliance_forms/MFT_RatesPerGallon.pdf
“I’m speaking of the undisclosed gas tax”,
commonly called ‘The O’Malley Never Ending Legacy Tax’. It goes to funding ‘stuff’, like O’Malley intended.
what could we say during the comment period that could change anything?
Nothing without merit. Whenever they propose changes, the decision is already made in advanced, otherwise, they wouldn’t be discussing it.
This is just the frontrunner for more changes…
Look, I definitely understand cutting back on unnecessary runs (not “routes”) to minimize the budget, but much can be resolved by simplifying the lines where you’re not having 10 busses gridlock on Penn Ave in SE DC at one time and paying a contractor to fulfill 250+ trips per day. The cost to operate the lines can be fixed – at least slightly- by running them “all day” so you don’t have a plethora of commuters heading back into Southern MD not relying on catching the ONLY bus between 4 -6 PM.