LocalLink 36 is a 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 ...

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 currently runs from

Towson Towson () is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 55,197 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Baltimore County and the second-most populous unincorp ...

to Fox Ridge, serving Parkville, Overlea, Rosedale, 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 Grea ...

, and the Essex campus of the

Community College of Baltimore County The Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC) is a public community college in Baltimore County, Maryland, with three main campuses and three extension centers. Academics CCBC has more than 100 associate degree and certificate programs in ...

(formerly Essex Community College).

History

Route 36 started operating in 1973 as Route 55 between Overlea and Towson, with branches via

Joppa Road Joppa Road is a county highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The highway extends from Maryland Route 25 (MD 25) in Brooklandville east to MD 7 near White Marsh. Joppa Road has three main segments separated by very short breaks on its course ...

and Taylor Avenue, and to Hunt Valley. A year later, as the Route 9 was introduced, the Hunt Valley service on this line was truncated to Towson. In 1977, Route 55 was combined with Route 2, which had operated limited service between Overlea and Fox Ridge. For the next 20 years, the line operated from the Towson area to Franklin Square Hospital, with selected trips, mostly during rush hour, continuing to Fox Ridge. Express trips to the Essex area from Towson were also introduced, but were eliminated in 1992. In 1997, all trips were extended to Fox Ridge. In 1998, two daily trips which operated via Taylor Avenue through Parkville were discontinued. In 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 ...

, it was proposed that Route 55 would operated every 30 minutes versus the previous 40, and Sunday service would be introduced. No routing changes were planned initially to Route 55. But this plan was later delayed due to public outcry over changes to other routes. In 2006, under a revision, MTA made plans for Route 55 to loop at the Towson Courthouse rather than GBMC, and for service on the remainder of the route to be provided on other lines. This plan was not implemented immediately. But on October 8, 2006, Sunday service was introduced, reflecting this new routing. On February 17, 2008, these changes were implemented seven days a week,MTA February 2008 schedule changes despite public outcry over transfers that would be required to reach

Towson University Towson University (TU or Towson) is a public university in Towson, Maryland. Founded in 1866 as Maryland's first training school for teachers, Towson University is a part of the University System of Maryland. Since its founding, the university h ...

and area hospitals. On June 18, 2017, BaltimoreLink renamed Route 55 to Route 36.

References

{{MTA Maryland bus Maryland Transit Administration bus routes 1973 establishments in Maryland