MDOT MTA’s Fall 2023 Annual Service Plan identifies service changes for Fall 2023 as the system continues to rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic. In May 2023 MDOT MTA proposed adjustments to core bus routes to increase access and equity across the system, improve reliability and travel time, and adapt service to meet changing travel needs. After collecting feedback from operators, the public, and other stakeholders, MDOT MTA has determined which recommendations to proceed with for the Fall 2023 service change. MDOT MTA will continue to monitor service, traffic congestion, ridership, crowding, and staffing availability, and will make small adjustments seasonally in 2024 as the region emerges from the pandemic and ridership grows.
These changes will take effect on Sunday, August 27, 2023. Updated PDF schedules and maps will be at the bottom of the page closer to when the changes go live.
For a PDF of the full service change proposal, click here. (13MB)
Highlights Include
- New QuickLink 40 Pilot Route
- LocalLink 32: New Extension to Catonsville
- LocalLink 37: New Branch to Catonsville
- CityLink Brown: Truncation at Overlea
- LocalLink 33: New Extension to White Marsh
- CityLink Navy: New Short-Turn at Bayview
- LocalLink 33 & LocalLink 56: Changes due to White Marsh Mall Construction
- Minor alignment adjustments on the CityLink Silver, Express BusLink 105, LocalLink 93, and LocalLink 31
- Runtime and schedule adjustments across 22 CityLink, LocalLink, and Express BusLink routes
Service Enhancements
QuickLink 40 Pilot
The QuickLink 40 will offer weekday service every 20 to 30 minutes from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays along existing CityLink Blue and Orange routes from Essex to Westgate. With more buses making fewer stops, the pilot QuickLink 40 is expected to eliminate about 25 minutes of travel time for riders who currently use the CityLink Blue and CityLink Orange lines.
| Service Levels For QuickLink 40 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weekday Start Time |
Weekday A.M. Peak (6 A.M. to 9 A.M.) |
Weekday Midday (9 A.M. to 2 P.M.) |
Weekday P.M. Peak (2 P.M. to 6 P.M.) |
Weekday End Time |
| 6:00 A.M. | 20 minutes | 30 minutes | 20 minutes | 6:00 P.M. |
Routing and Stops
QuickLink 40 will offer faster east-west travel between North Bend Road in Westgate and the Essex Park & Ride. The route would operate on Edmondson Avenue, Franklin and Mulberry Streets, US-40, Fayette and Baltimore Streets, East Lombard Street, and Eastern Avenue.
The bus stops in the table below will be served by QuickLink 40.
| Stops For The QuickLink 40 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Stop Name | Eastbound Stop Location | Westbound Stop Location |
| North Bend (Westgate) | Edmondson & North Bend EB (Stop #4393) | Edmondson & North Bend EB (Stop #4393) |
| Swann (Edmondson Village) | Edmondson & Swann EB (Stop #10905) | Edmondson & Swann WB (Stop #4708) |
| Augusta (Edmondson Village) | Edmondson & Augusta EB (Stop #8585) | Edmondson & Augusta WB (Stop #4695) |
| Allendale (Allendale) | Edmondson & Allendale EB (Stop #4423) | Edmondson & Allendale WB (Stop #4689) |
| Franklin (Mosher) | Franklin & Edmondson EB (Stop #4429) | Franklin & Edmondson WB (Stop #4686) |
| West Baltimore MARC | West Baltimore MARC Bay 2 (Stop #14108) | West Baltimore MARC Bay 2 (Stop #14108) |
| Lexington Market | Greene & Lexington SB (Stop #1258) | Paca & Saratoga NB (Stop #10545) |
| Eutaw (Baltimore Arena) | Baltimore & Eutaw EB (Stop #2323) | Fayette & Eutaw WB (Stop #126) |
| Charles (Charles Center) | Baltimore & Charles EB (Stop #66) | Fayette & St. Paul WB (Stop #285) |
| Gay (City Hall) | Baltimore & Frederick EB (Stop #815) | Fayette & Gay WB (Stop #283) |
| Broadway (Washington Hill) | Fayette & Broadway EB (Stop #4467) | Fayette & Broadway WB (Stop #6326) |
| Washington (Butchers Hill) | Fayette & Washington EB (Stop #4471) | Fayette & Washington WB (Stop #4650) |
| Lakewood (McElderry Park) | Fayette & Glover EB (Stop #4477) | Fayette & Lakewood WB (Stop #4645) |
| Highland (Ellwood Park) | Fayette & Highland EB (Stop #4483) | Fayette & Highland WB (Stop #4639) |
| Eaton (Baltimore Highlands) | Lombard & Eaton EB (Stop #8589) | Lombard & Eaton WB (Stop #4635) |
| Bayview (Johns Hopkins Bayview) | Bayview & Hopkins Bayview SB (Stop #10536) | Bayview & Hopkins Bayview NB (Stop #10542) |
| Anglesea (Greektown) | Eastern & Anglesea EB (Stop #1919) | Eastern & Anglesea WB (Stop #2022) |
| Kane (Joseph Lee) | Eastern & Kane EB (Stop #4494) | Eastern & Kane WB (Stop #12160) |
| Westham (Eastwood) | Eastern & Westham EB (Stop #4499) | Eastern & Westham WB (Stop #4614) |
| 54th (Eastpoint) | Eastern & 54th EB (Stop #8658) | Eastern & 54th WB (Stop #7587) |
| Essex Park & Ride | Eastern & Essex P&R WB (Stop #7585) | Eastern & Essex P&R WB (Stop #7585) |
| Taylor (Essex) | Eastern & Taylor EB (Stop #4516) | Eastern & Taylor WB (Stop #4597) |
LocalLink 32 and LocalLink 37: New Extension and Branch to Catonsville
Service changes to LocalLink 32 and LocalLink 37 are intended to improve transit connections between Catonsville and Patapsco.
LocalLink 32 will be extended from UMBC-Catonsville to the Rolling Road Walmart in Catonsville, creating new connections from Patapsco to Catonsville.
Some trips on LocalLink 37 will be rerouted to operate between Old Court Metro and the Rolling Road Walmart, creating new access from Woodlawn to retail along Route 40. The remaining trips on LocalLink 37 will continue to operate between Old Court Metro and UMBC-Catonsville.
No changes will be made to the LocalLink 77
Further details and maps covering each change are below.
LocalLink 32: New Extension to Catonsville
LocalLink 32 will be extended to the Rolling Road Walmart in Catonsville. LocalLink 32 will continue service between Patapsco Light Rail and UMBC.
The extension of LocalLink 32 will provide a new one-seat connection from Patapsco to Catonsville, and additional transfer opportunities to CityLink Purple, LocalLink 37, and LocalLink 77
Service along Edmonson Avenue west of Ingleside Avenue will compliment LocalLink 77.
LocalLink 37: New Branch to Catonsville
Select LocalLink 37 trips will operate on a new short-turn pattern between Old Court Metro and the Walmart in Catonsville. Remaining trips will continue to operate between Old Court Metro and UMBC-Catonsville.
The new short-turn will provide riders with a new connection to retail along Route 40 between Ingleside Avenue and Rolling Road, and a new transfer connection to LocalLink 32.
CityLink Brown and LocalLink 33: Truncation and New Extension
MDOT MTA’s analysis of route reliability shows that CityLink Brown is among the least reliable routes. These changes are intended to improve reliability along the CityLink Brown between Overlea and Downtown, where ridership on the route is highest.
The new service changes have the added potential benefit of creating a one-seat ride between White Marsh Mall and points west Belair Road on the LocalLink 33. Our analysis of passenger travel patterns shows that many passengers currently transfer between the LocalLink 33 and the CityLink Brown at Overlea to continue their trips
Additional alignment changes to routes serving White Marsh Mall are described further down on this page.
Further details and maps covering each change are below.
CityLink Brown: Truncation to Overlea
As part of swapping service between Overlea and White Marsh Mall to LocalLink 33, trips on the CityLink Brown will end at either Overlea or Gardenville. Trips will alternate ending at Gardenville and Overlea loop throughout the day. No changes will occur to weekday or weekend service frequencies or span of service on the CityLink Brown
Alternative service between Overlea and White Marsh Mall would be provided by an extension of LocalLink 33.
Ridership on CityLink Brown traveling beyond Overlea appears to be lower than the number of riders transferring from LocalLink 33 to points north of Overlea, which suggests that service along this segment may be better provided by LocalLink 33. Shortening the CityLink Brown may also improve the route’s overall reliability.
LocalLink 33: New Extension to White Marsh
LocalLink 33 will be extended to White Marsh Mall and Park & Ride via the current CityLink Brown route on Belair Road and White Marsh Boulevard. All trips on LocalLink 33 would provide service between Mount Washington and White Marsh. No changes are proposed to weekday or weekend service frequencies or span of service.
Extending LocalLink 33 to White Marsh would improve access from points along the route west of Belair Road to White Marsh with a one-seat ride. The extension would replace CityLink Brown service between Overlea and White Marsh.
CityLink Navy: Short-Turn to Bayview
The CityLink Navy will send select trips to Bayview Medical Center instead of terminating at Center Place during the peak, midday, and early service periods. All other CityLink Navy trips will continue to run to Watersedge.
The route's operating hours and service will be maintained at current levels.
Service Adjustments
The following section describes adjustments to four routes — CityLink Silver, Express BusLink 105, LocalLink 93, and LocalLink 31. Adjustments are based on MDOT MTA’s operational restrictions on portions of these routes. These adjustments would increase the efficiency of route operations but will not have significant effects for riders.
Additionally, because construction is restricting travel around the White Marsh Mall, routes that will serve the White Marsh Mall will be rerouted around the mall complex.
CityLink Silver Using Hanover Street
All southbound CityLink Silver trips will operate via Hanover Street between West Lee Street and Fort Avenue. Current southbound service along Light Street poses operational challenges and impacts reliability on the route. Riders who board along this segment of the route can catch the route two blocks west on Hanover Street
No changes are proposed to northbound operations along Charles Street. No changes are proposed to weekday or weekend service frequencies or span of service on the CityLink Silver.
Express BusLink 105 Using Guilford
All southbound Express BusLink 105 trips will operate via Pleasant to Guilford to Fayette Street via the existing CityLink Red pattern alignment.
The redesign of the City Hall bus stops and layovers have eliminated a stop served by the route (#12712 - LEXINGTON ST & GAY ST fs). Additional stops (#283 - FAYETTE ST & GAY ST wb and #8928 - FAYETTE ST & HOLLIDAY ST wb) served by the route will no longer be served.
No changes are proposed to weekday service frequencies or span of service on the Express BusLink 105.
LocalLink 93 Layover Made Permanent
Due to private property constraints, the temporary layover for the northbound end of the LocalLink 93 at International Drive will be made permanent.
LocalLink 31 Parallel Drive Stops
Due to the Social Security Administration no longer occupying the west side of the complex, stops along Parallel Drive, west of Woodlawn Drive will no longer be served by LocalLink 31. These trips will continue to serve the main Social Security building and will continue to Security Square Mall
No changes are proposed to weekday or weekend service frequencies or span of service on the LocalLink 31.
White Marsh Mall: LocalLink 33 and LocalLink 56
Due to construction, LocalLink 33 and LocalLink 56 trips to and from White Marsh Mall will not serve the stop outside the former Sears (Stop ID # 3125)
Updated Schedules & Maps
Minor timetable and runtime adjustments will be made for 22 CityLink, LocalLink, and Express BusLink routes to improve their reliability and performance. These adjustments are consistent with the typical minor timetable and runtime updates MDOT MTA makes three times a year (winter, summer, and fall). The affected routes and updated timetables will be listed below closer to when the changes go live.
CityLink Brown - Schedule | Map
CityLink Gold - Schedule | Map
CityLink Navy - Schedule | Map
CityLink Orange - Schedule | Map
CityLink Silver - Schedule | Map
