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Maryland Transit Administration The Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) is a state-operated mass transit administration in Maryland, and is part of the Maryland Department of Transportation. The MTA operates a comprehensive transit system throughout the Baltimore-Washingt ...
provides the primary
public bus Public transport bus services are generally based on regular operation of transit buses along a route calling at agreed bus stops according to a published public transport timetable. History of buses Origins While there are indications ...
service for the
Baltimore metropolitan area The Baltimore–Columbia–Towson Metropolitan Statistical Area, also known as Central Maryland, is a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) in Maryland as defined by the United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB). As of the 2010 Census, t ...
and commuter bus service in other parts of the state of
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean t ...
. There are currently 76 bus routes, which include 45 LocalLink routes, 12 High Frequency CityLink Routes routes, 8
express bus Public transport bus services are generally based on regular operation of transit buses along a route calling at agreed bus stops according to a published public transport timetable. History of buses Origins While there are indications ...
routes (which operate from various suburbs to
downtown Baltimore Downtown Baltimore is the central business district of the city of Baltimore traditionally bounded by Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard to the west, Franklin Street to the north, President Street to the east and the Inner Harbor area to the ...
), 19 commuter bus routes, and 5 Intercounty Connector or "ICC" routes (which operate from various locations mainly in
central Maryland The Baltimore–Columbia–Towson Metropolitan Statistical Area, also known as Central Maryland, is a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) in Maryland as defined by the United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB). As of the 2010 Census, ...
to
Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...
or various
Metrorail METRORail is the light rail system in Houston, Texas (United States). In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of . METRORail ranks as the second most-traveled light rail system in the Southern United States and the 12th ...
stations). The local and commuter bus routes operate in conjunction with one
subway Subway, Subways, The Subway, or The Subways may refer to: Transportation * Subway, a term for underground rapid transit rail systems * Subway (underpass), a type of walkway that passes underneath an obstacle * Subway (George Bush Intercontin ...
line, three light rail lines,
MARC train MARC (Maryland Area Rail Commuter) is a commuter rail system in the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area. MARC is administered by the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) and operated under contract by Alstom and Amtrak on track owned ...
service, and various connections to other transit agencies.


Operation

The MTA's bus service operates throughout the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area and other parts of the state. These include: 12 CityLink High Frequency Color Routes. In addition to LocalLink routes 21 through 95; Express BusLink routes 103, 105, 115, 120, 150, 154, 160, and 163; Intercounty Connector routes 201 through 205; Commuter bus routes 310 through 995. https://mta.maryland.gov/local-bus


Local buses

In June 2017 as part of MD Gov. Larry Hogan's initiative to have a better transit system in Baltimore he launched BaltimoreLink. Local bus lines are identified with a one- or two-digit number. Many of the numerical designations have origins dating back to the days of the Baltimore streetcars and share the route numbers of the respective
streetcar A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport a ...
s that operated along the same streets. Most local buses operate regular service seven days a week throughout most hours of the day and evening. Some routes operate 24 hours. A small number of routes operate without evening service, on weekdays only, during peak hours only, or only at the times needed for certain employers.Local Bus
retrieved 2009-12-16
Until 2009, a series of routes operated in the northwest part of the city and suburbs known as ''Metro connection buses''. These routes had designations of the letter M followed by a number, and operated from a Metro station to a specified location or between two Metro stations. When the Metro connection bus service began in 1984, it used designations beginning with the letter M (Mondawmin), R (Rogers Avenue), or P (Plaza), followed by a number. After the Metro was extended to Owings Mills in 1987, only the letter M was used, and it denoted "Metro." Since 1988, the number of M-lines had declined, as many of them were consolidated, and some were completely eliminated. After the first phase of the
Greater Baltimore Bus Initiative The Greater Baltimore Bus Initiative (GBBI) (pronounced ''GIBBY'') was a sweeping overhaul planned by the Maryland Transit Administration under the administration of then-Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich and his transportation secretary Robert F ...
took effect in 2005, only seven M-lines remained, though this increased to eight after Route M-6 was restored months later. Throughout 2008 and 2009, all M-lines were renamed to plain two-digit numerical designations, ranging from 52 to 54 and 56 to 60. During this series of revisions, route changes were also made to some of them, including merging some, splitting others, and completely eliminating part of Route M-17 without any replacement.MTA Announces New Quickbus Service and Changes to Fall Schedule
MTA press release (August 18, 2009). Retrieved 2010-04-23


Express, Commuter, and Intercounty Connector buses

The MTA's express routes should not be confused with the "express" trips assigned to several of the local bus routes. Express routes are dedicated to providing rapid service by limiting the number of stops along the route. The number of express routes has declined over the past two decades as new rapid transit services have been constructed, and poor-performing routes were eliminated or consolidated. Unlike the commuter buses, express bus routes serve areas where local buses are available. Comparable slower trips can also be accomplished with local buses.Express Bus
retrieved 2009-12-16
Commuter routes, however, provide service between locations not connected by local bus routes. Both the express and commuter routes, identified with 3-digit numbers, offer limited service mostly during weekday rush hour between downtown Baltimore or Washington and various Park-and-Ride lots or other suburban locations in the state of Maryland. The commuter routes, designated with higher numbers, are operated by contractors rather than MTA employees. The newest addition to the commuter bus service since 2010, known as ''Intercounty Connector'' or ''ICC'' for short, operates from
Gaithersburg Gaithersburg ( ), officially the City of Gaithersburg, is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. At the time of the 2020 U.S. Census, Gaithersburg had a population of 69,657, making it the ninth-largest location in the state. Ga ...
to BWI Marshall Airport,
University of Maryland College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the Flagship un ...
or DoD/
Fort Meade Fort George G. Meade is a United States Army installation located in Maryland, that includes the Defense Information School, the Defense Media Activity, the United States Army Field Band, and the headquarters of United States Cyber Command, the ...
, traveling along the newly built
Intercounty Connector Maryland Route 200 (MD 200), also known as the Intercounty Connector or ICC, is an , six-lane toll road in the U.S. state of Maryland. A controlled-access highway, it connects Gaithersburg in Montgomery County and Laurel in Prince George's Cou ...
expressway in central Maryland.


Neighborhood Shuttle Bug

Two of the local routes MTA operates are considered ''neighborhood shuttles'', also known as ''Shuttle Bugs''. These local routes focus on a specific neighborhood and the transportation of persons within these communities. During the early 2000s, MTA introduced two such routes. These routes, rather than operating like others around town, have differences that include: *Reduced fare for a single ride: $1.00 rather than the $1.60 charged on regular buses. MTA unlimited ride passes (also known as "GO-passes") also cover the fare. *In 2006, three shorter, distinctively painted buses, 30-foot
Opus ''Opus'' (pl. ''opera'') is a Latin word meaning "work". Italian equivalents are ''opera'' (singular) and ''opere'' (pl.). Opus or OPUS may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Opus number, (abbr. Op.) specifying order of (usually) publicatio ...
buses were purchased and are used exclusively by the Mondawmin shuttle."Governor Ehrlich unveils new buses for Mondawmin shuttle"
MTA press release (September 16, 2006). Retrieved 2010-06-18
The Opus buses are the only non 40- and 60-foot buses in MTA's fleet; held at Northwest (4) garage. In mid-2011, MTA retired the three 30-foot Opus buses due to reliability issues. *Schedules are printed in full color, rather than the monochrome design of most printed schedules, in order to attract more riders. *Bus stop signs have unique identifications different from usual bus stops. The Hampden Shuttle is identified by a
ladybug Coccinellidae () is a widespread family of small beetles ranging in size from . They are commonly known as ladybugs in North America and ladybirds in Great Britain. Some entomologists prefer the names ladybird beetles or lady beetles as th ...
, and the Mondawmin Shuttle uses the
grasshopper Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are among what is possibly the most ancient living group of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grasshopp ...
symbol. The Hampden Shuttle Bug was the first of seven shuttle routes originally planned for Baltimore and its suburbs. Only the Hampden and Mondawmin routes were implemented; no timetable was ever set for other neighborhood shuttle routes. A proposed Shuttle Bug route between
Randallstown Randallstown is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. It is named after Christopher and Thomas Randall, two 18th-century tavern-keepers. At that time, Randallstown was a tollgate cro ...
and the
Owings Mills Metro Subway Station Owings Mills station is a Metro SubwayLink station in Owings Mills, Maryland. The station is experiencing transit-oriented development from Metro Centre at Owings Mills, bringing many apartments, office space, retail, restaurants, and condominiums ...
was fought by residents along the route the shuttle would take. Objections included that the service would operate on quiet residential streets not accustomed to bus traffic, and area residents did not need the service. In 2005 and 2006, in various phases of the
Greater Baltimore Bus Initiative The Greater Baltimore Bus Initiative (GBBI) (pronounced ''GIBBY'') was a sweeping overhaul planned by the Maryland Transit Administration under the administration of then-Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich and his transportation secretary Robert F ...
, MTA proposed various changes to these routes which included routing changes and threats to eliminate Route 98 completely and reduce service on Route 97 to once an hour. The only change that was actually made was a shift on Route 98 in 2008 to replace service on Roland Avenue, that was lost through a change to Route 27. In 2017, shuttle bug service was discontinued as part of BaltimoreLink. Route 97 was replaced by LocalLink 82. Most of Route 98's routing was replaced by LocalLink 21.


QuickBus

In 2005, MTA introduced a new form of express transit, known as “rapid bus service.” The first of these services was designated
Route 40 The following highways are numbered 40: International * European route E40 Argentina * National Route 40 Australia * NSW State Route 40 (Windsor Road and Victoria Road in Sydney) * Victorian State Route 40 * Mulligan Highway (Queensland) Br ...
. The line operates every 10–15 minutes from the western to the eastern suburbs of Baltimore through the downtown area, serving various communities in West and East Baltimore. Stops are limited to major intersections, transfer points, and points of interest. Unlike other express buses, local fares are applicable on Route 40. Route 40 was later named " QuickBus." In 2009, a new "QuickBus" route was introduced. Designated as QuickBus 48, it operates along the same route as Route 8 minus the section north of
Towson Town Center Towson Town Center is a large indoor shopping mall located in Towson, Maryland. It was the largest indoor shopping mall in Maryland prior to the completion of Arundel Mills in late 2000 in Hanover and the 2007 expansion of Westfield Annapolis. ...
. Introduction of another QuickBus service that would operate along the route Route 3 and would have carry the designation "Route 43", but this proposal was delayed. Two more QuickBus routes began service on August 30, 2010 until June 17, 2017. QuickBus 46 operates alongside routes 5 and 10 from Paradise Avenue loop to Cedonia Loop. QuickBus 47 travel along the route 15 from Walbrook Junction to Overlea Loop. Both buses operate on weekdays at peak hours only. In 2017, all QuickBus routes were discontinued as part of BaltimoreLink. All routes were replaced by LocalLink service. In 2022, MTA Maryland proposed a plan to reintroduce QuickBus-like service with a new branding under "QuickLink" to be included into Fall 2022 service changes. The service proposal would include an east-west limited-stop bus route as a pilot service named QuickLink 40. QuickLink 40 would operate every 20 minutes during peak and every 30 minutes during midday from North Bend to Essex Park & Ride. The pilot service was placed on hold as MDOT MTA focuses on improving system wide reliability, but could be included in future service changes.


Current bus routes


Fares

:''See: Current MTA Fares''


Fleet roster


Current fleet roster


On Order


Special Bus Fleet


Bus yards

MTA local bus service in Baltimore is divided into four divisions, each served by its own maintenance yard. The first digit of a bus's "block number", attached to the bottom right corner of its windshield (from inside of bus), indicates its "base" division. The buses also feature a small letter suffix to the fleet series number. The letter represent the 'first letter' of the division's "name" from where the bus is based.


References


External links


Official MTA website
{{DEFAULTSORT:MTA Maryland Local Bus Maryland Transit Administration