LocalLink 83 is a bus route in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was d ...

and its suburbs. The line currently runs from the Old Court Metro Subway Station in

Pikesville, Maryland Pikesville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. Pikesville is just northwest of the Baltimore city limits. It is the northwestern suburb closest to Baltimore. The population was 30,764 at the 2010 cens ...

to the Mondawmin Metro Subway Station in Northwest Baltimore along

Old Court Road Old Court Road is a state- and county-maintained highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Including the adjacent road in Howard County known as Woodstock Road, the highway runs from Maryland Route 99 (MD 99) near Woodstock east to Joppa Road near ...

and Reisterstown Road, serving the communities of

Park Heights Park Heights is an area of Baltimore City, Maryland, that lies approximately 10 miles northwest of downtown Baltimore and within two miles of the Baltimore County line. A 1,500-acre community, Park Heights comprises 12 smaller neighborhoods that ...

and the

Reisterstown Road Plaza The Reisterstown Road Plaza, usually known since its inception simply as ''"The Plaza,"'' is a shopping center and mall located near the Reisterstown Plaza Metro Subway Station. Originally built as an outdoor shopping center (with two parallel rows ...

. The line is the successor to Bus Route 7, which still operates south of Mondawmin. Route 7 operated along Reisterstown Road outside the Metro's hours of operation until 2001. Route 83 was known as Route 53 until BaltimoreLink in 2017, and Route M-2 until it was renamed in 2009. No routing changes were made at the time.

History

The No. 5 Streetcar operated through Pikesville starting in 1916, and until 1938. The line operating through the city not along Reisterstown Road, but on the nearby parallel

Park Heights Avenue Maryland Route 129 (MD 129) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland, running north-northwesterly from U.S. Route 40 (US 40) and MD 295 in Baltimore into Baltimore County, ending at Garrison Forest Road east of Reisterstown. The route l ...

. Bus service on Reisterstown Road inside of Baltimore City started in 1929, provided on Route L. This became a part of Route 5/7 in 1948. In 1959, Route 5/7 was split, with the no. 5 designation being assigned to the

line, and the no. 7 designation being given to the route on Reisterstown Road. Route 7 was also combined with Route 18 (the former Pennsylvania Avenue Streetcar Line) at the time, providing service downtown from all points along Reisterstown Road. M2Pikesville

Route M-2 started operating in 1984 after the Baltimore Metro's first segment opened, and Route 7 was split. Route M-2 then originated and terminated in the north near Reisterstown & Old Court Roads in Pikesville's central business district. At that time, the Old Court Metro Subway Station had not yet opened, and the segment of Old Court Road on which this line currently operates was served by Route 77. In 1987, when the Metro was extended to

Owings Mills Owings Mills is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. It is a suburb of Baltimore. Per the 2020 census, the population was 35,674. Owings Mills is home to the northern terminus of ...

, Route M-2 was extended to the Old Court Metro Subway Station. Since then, the line's route has never changed. Only minor schedule changes have been made, and in 2001, Sunday service was added. In 1993, as a cost-saving measure, MTA started to close three of its Metro stations, including Old Court, at 8 PM, and for trains running later than this time to bypass these stops. This made travel more difficult for riders of Route M-2 accustomed to transferring in this area. During this time, Route 77 was extended to Pikesville after 8 PM. MTA reopened all these stations in the evening in 2001. On August 30, 2009 the M-2 was renamed 53. This completed MTA's plan to rename all M-lines to two-digit routing designations.

References

*Baltimore Streetcars By Herbert H. Harwood, Paul W. Wirtz, page 77, {{MTA Maryland bus Maryland Transit Administration bus routes 1984 establishments in Maryland