BALTIMORE — Working to improve on-time performance, ease crowding, simplify routes and better connect customers to new job opportunities within Baltimore City, including the Amazon Distribution Center along Broening Highway and the Shops at Canton Crossing, the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) will make a series of Local Bus service enhancements that will go into effect Sunday, February 22, 2015.
The service enhancements follow extensive public hearings/comments and are part of comprehensive, multi-year plan to build a better bus network, known as the Bus Network Improvement Project (BNIP).
As part of the Local Bus service enhancements, MTA will introduce two new lines:
• No. 26 Line: The new service will originate downtown at Fayette and Charles Streets and travel to Dundalk Marine Terminal with a stop at the Amazon Distribution Center on Broening Highway, which will employ more than 1,000 people.
• No. 31 Line: The new service will originate from State Center Metro to the Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC)-Dundalk with a stop at the Shops at Canton Crossing.
“These changes are a key step to creating a bus system our customers can rely on and a network that provides more connections to employment and recreational centers in the region,” said MTA Administrator Robert Smith. “Bringing needed changes to our bus system is a major step toward improving our local and regional transportation model as a whole.”
Additional service enhancements will be made to existing MTA Local Bus lines:
• No. 11 Line: This existing line currently serves Towson to Canton. To improve on-time performance, the line will end in the Inner Harbor and the remainder of the trip to Canton Crossing will be transferred to the new No. 31 Line.
• No. 20 Line: This existing line currently serves Security Mall/CMS/Edmonson Village to CCBC-Dundalk and the Dundalk Marine Terminal. To improve reliability and ease crowding, the route will be segmented into three lines with some service transferred to the new No. 26 Line and the new No. 31 Line.
Because both the No. 11 and No. 20 Local Bus lines are being split to improve on-time performance, some customers may have to take additional buses to complete their rides. Therefore, MTA suggests these customers buy a $3.50 Day Pass when first boarding, which will enable them to ride the second bus without paying a second full fare. The Day Pass, which is 30 cents more than the existing round-trip fare on MTA Local Bus, also serves as an all-day travel pass on MTA Local Bus, Light Rail and Metro Subway.
• No. 36 Line: This existing line currently serves Northern Parkway and York Road to Monroe Street / Riverview. To improve efficiency, a small portion of this line that operates up Twin Springs Road to serve the South Baltimore County Medical Center is being modified.
• No. 30 Line: This existing line currently serves Edmondson Village to City Hall/Bayview Medical Center. With increased frequency on the portion of the No. 20 Line between Edmondson Village and City Hall, the No. 30 Line is no longer needed and will be discontinued. Riders along the eastern section will use other existing lines (Nos. 10, 23 and Quick Bus 40) to Bayview.
To view a summary of the upcoming service changes, you may visit MTA’s website at http://mta.maryland.gov/servicechanges.
For the latest information on MTA service, passengers are urged to check the MTA website at www.mta.maryland.gov. Customers can also call the MTA Transit Information Contact Center Monday (excluding Monday, September 1) through Friday from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 410-539-5000. TTY 410-539-3497.
To sign-up for email about service modifications and delays, go to www.mta.maryland.gov/enotifications. Visit MTA’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/mtamaryland or Twitter feed at http://twitter.com/mtamaryland for more sources of updated information.