Quickbus 40 was a
limited stop bus route operated by the
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 ...
in
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
and its suburbs. The line was discontinued in June 2017 as part of the
BaltimoreLink
The Maryland Transit Administration provides the primary public bus service for the Baltimore metropolitan area and commuter bus service in other parts of the state of Maryland. There are currently 76 bus routes, which include 45 LocalLink route ...
system rebranding along with the other "Quickbus" limited-stop routes. In April 2022, the MTA announced a proposal to revive the route before the end of the same year as the QuickLink 40.
The line ran from the
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in
Woodlawn to
Middle River, both in
Baltimore County, Maryland (on opposite sides) with selected trips terminating at Downtown Baltimore City Hall, passing through the west and east sides and the
downtown area of Baltimore City. Service operates every 12 minutes during rush hour, and every 15 minutes at most other times during its hours of operation. The line serves the corridors of
Edmondson Avenue
U.S. Route 40 (US 40) in the U.S. state of Maryland runs from Garrett County in Western Maryland to Cecil County in the state's northeastern corner. With a total length of , it is the longest numbered highway in Maryland. Almost half of the ro ...
in West Baltimore, including the communities of
Edmondson Village,
Allendale, and
Rosemont, and
Fayette Street
This is a list of notable streets in the city of Baltimore, Maryland, United States.
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
Heath St. Route 64. (MTA Maryland)
K
L
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Ramsay st
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Numbered streets
In Balt ...
and
Eastern Avenue in East Baltimore, serving
Patterson Park
Patterson Park is an urban park in Southeast Baltimore, Maryland, United States, adjacent to the neighborhoods of Canton, Highlandtown, Patterson Park, and Butchers Hill. It is bordered by East Baltimore Street, Eastern Avenue, South Patte ...
,
Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center (abbreviated JHBMC or Bayview; formerly Francis Scott Key Medical Center and Baltimore City Hospitals) is teaching hospital trauma center, neonatal intensive care unit, geriatrics center, and is home to the Johns ...
and
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
.
[Quick Bus 40 Schedule](_blank)
MTA Maryland, effective 2009-2-8, retrieved May 31, 2011
Unlike a local bus, the 40 does not stop at every bus stop along its route. Rather, its stops are limited to certain locations of importance, including transfer points to other bus lines, major landmarks, and other busy intersections selected by MTA. In all, there are 32 stops along the route in each direction, which are all identified in printed timetables.
History
The Route 40 started operating on October 23, 2005
as part 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 Fl ...
, a plan of then-governor
Robert L. Ehrlich
Robert Leroy Ehrlich Jr. (born November 25, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the List of Governors of Maryland, 60th Governor of Maryland from 2003 to 2007. A Republican Party (United States), Republican, Ehrlich represe ...
for streamlining and simplifying the Baltimore transit system. Unlike a rail line, this addition did not require any construction. The bus route was intended to resemble the proposed
Red Line that is currently being studied for the Baltimore region.
When it started operating, Route 40 ran from Security Square Mall to the Essex Park-and-Ride lot on
Eastern Avenue. Weekday service operated every 10 minutes during rush hour and midday. On February 5 the following year, it was extended to Middle River and reduced to one bus every 12–15 minutes.
On June 10, 2007, the eastern
layover was moved to a safer location at Old Eastern and Vincent Avenues. The western layover was moved to CMS on February 8, 2009 and the stop at Security Square Mall was moved from the parking lot of the mall to a point along
Security Boulevard
Maryland Route 122 (MD 122) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known as Security Boulevard and Cooks Lane, the state highway runs from Rolling Road east to the Baltimore city limit within the western Baltimore County suburb of ...
adjacent to the mall lot.
Quickbus 40 PLUS Service
Enhanced service for West Baltimore residents on the QuickBus 40 will begin October 25, 2015. The enhanced service will increase frequency and reliability on the line between the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid in Baltimore County and City Hall in Baltimore City.
Customer will find additional bus trips added on west side between CMS and City Hall to enhance off-peak and weekend access to jobs.
Criticism
Route 40 received a lot of criticism following its inauguration from riders, politicians, and the media.
[Michael Dresser (October 25, 2005)]
Commuters ride out bus system's changes
'Los Angeles Times'', retrieved 2009-12-15 This criticism resulted in some changes being made to the route, schedule, and other details.
The service, which was projected to have a daily ridership level of 27,000, fell far short of that goal. Many riders waiting for other buses at common stops complained about seeing a lot of empty Route 40 buses.
This resulted in its weekday frequency being reduced.
Low ridership and unrealistic time allocation initially being built into the schedule resulted in poor
on-time performance In public transportation, schedule adherence or on-time performance refers to the level of success of the service (such as a bus or train) remaining on the published schedule. On time performance, sometimes referred to as on time running, is normal ...
and buses ''clumping together''. As one bus fell behind schedule while busy picking up passengers, the one behind it got ahead after stops had been cleared of waiting passengers, and ultimately caught up to the earlier bus. This left larger gaps between buses.
Financial resources needed in order to operate this service were obtained by cutting back on the amount of local bus service along common streets of operation, mostly on
Route 23, which had its level of service cut by nearly 50% when Route 40 was introduced. This brought the number of local buses on these busy streets below the demand.
The service's original route had an eastern terminus at Essex Park-and-Ride lot, which was more than a mile short of the transfer point for some other lines, including Routes
24 and
55. An extension in February 2006 to Middle River allowed riders to transfer directly to those routes.
On the west side of the route, there is no designated Park-and-Ride lot allowing motorists to park their vehicles and catch the bus. Security Square Mall has not allocated any spaces for riders of Route 40, and an existing park-and-ride lot at the end of
I-70
Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of I-695 in Baltimore, Maryland, and is the fifth-longest Interstate in the c ...
is not within a practical or pedestrian friendly walk of a bus stop.
While rapid transit lines are generally modeled for commuter purposes, QuickBus is marketed only to those who do not own vehicles and depend on a neighborhood bus stop.
Tracking of buses
At 11 stops along the route, a new experimental system was installed late in 2006. Electronic signs at these stops, tied into a
GPS
The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of the global navigation satellite sy ...
system, indicate the expected time of arrival for the next bus, so riders do not have to rely on a less reliable printed schedule. MTA is considering implementing this system at many more bus stops along other routes in the future.
This system has been highly criticized. It is expensive, and money spent on it has not been spent on improving bus service around the Baltimore area. Even when fully in place, these signs will only be found at a small percentage of bus stops, and will not be useful to everyone.
QuickBus Structuring
On December 21, 2006, Bus Route 40 was rebranded as "QuickBus" in order to better promote the service.
[MTA Announces "QuickBus" Service on 40 Line; Bus Restructuring Put on Hold](_blank)
''BTA Updates'' (January 30, 2007), Baltimore Transit Alliance Special pylons were added at selected stops to mark the locations.
The name "QuickBus" was synonymous with Bus Route 40 until August 30, 2009, when another QuickBus line, known as
Route 48, started operation along the
Greenmount Ave/York Rd corridor. The MTA had added two more QuickBus lines:
Route 46 and
Route 47 on August 29, 2010.
Notice of Public Hearings
June 2010. MTA Maryland. Retrieved May 31, 2011
References
{{MTA Maryland
Bus rapid transit in Maryland
Route 040
Transportation at Johns Hopkins Hospital
2005 establishments in Maryland