ANNAPOLIS, MD (March 8, 2017) – As part of Governor Larry Hogan’s BaltimoreLink transformative transit plan to better connect Marylanders to life’s opportunities, the Maryland Department of Transportation’s Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) rolled out its new express Commuter Bus Route 215 on Wednesday, March 1, to connect downtown Baltimore to Annapolis. As an incentive to encourage riders to try this new express Commuter Bus service, the MTA is offering free rides for the first two weeks, through March 14. After the free service period, the fare listed below will apply.
To celebrate the launch of Commuter Bus 215, Annapolis Mayor Michael Pantelides joined MTA Administrator and CEO Paul Comfort today on Church Circle in Annapolis for an official ribbon-cutting ceremony.
“Governor Hogan and Transportation Secretary Pete Rahn are committed to building a strong transportation network that links people to jobs and life’s opportunities,” said Comfort. “Commuter Bus 215 is a great new reverse commute service and we want to encourage everyone to take advantage of it. Once people who drive between Baltimore and Annapolis see the ease, convenience and low cost of riding this new express Commuter Bus service, we are confident that many will choose to leave their cars home every workday.”
Commuter Bus 215 will consist of three morning roundtrips starting in Baltimore and terminating in Annapolis. The afternoon route will provide reverse service to Baltimore. Commuter Bus 215 will operate on non-holiday weekdays only. The fare between Annapolis and Baltimore is $5.
"I applaud Governor Hogan for seeing the real need for transit connectivity and creating a solution that serves our residents," Pantelides said. “These new routes will not only help promote new opportunities for our workforce and students, but the new routes will also help to promote job growth by allowing easy access from one location to another, with the capital city as a hub."
Commuter Bus 215 will make numerous connections to local Annapolis Transit at the Annapolis Mall stop, along with connections to MTA’s Light Rail, Metro Subway and Local Bus routes in downtown Baltimore.
BaltimoreLink is the multi-phase plan to create an interconnected transit system by redesigning the entire local and express bus systems throughout Baltimore and adds 12 new high-frequency, color-coded bus routes that improve connections to jobs and to MARC Train, Metro Subway and Light Rail. BaltimoreLink transforms Baltimore’s half-a-century-old and outdated transit network with implementation of bus-only dedicated lanes, installation of transit signal priority, construction of a transfer hub network, rebranding and replacement of more than 5,000 transit signs, expanded commuter bus service, new shared bicycle availability, access to car-sharing options and more. New Express BusLink launched its suburb-to-suburb service in June 2016. As promised, expanded and new Commuter Bus service has seen launches in the summer and fall of 2016 with more coming this spring. High-frequency CityLink routes launch in the summer of 2017.
The Maryland Department of Transportation’s (MDOT) Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) is one of the largest multi-modal transit systems in the United States. MTA operates Local and Commuter buses, Light Rail, Metro Subway, Maryland Area Regional Commuter (MARC) Train service, and a comprehensive Paratransit (Mobility) system. MTA also manages the Taxi Access system, and directs funding and statewide assistance to Locally Operated Transit Systems (LOTS) in each of Maryland’s 23 counties, Annapolis, Baltimore City and Ocean City. MDOT is a customer-driven leader that delivers safe, sustainable, intelligent and exceptional transportation solutions in order to connect our customers to life’s opportunities. MTA’s goal is to provide safe, efficient and reliable transit across Maryland with world-class customer service. To learn more, visit mdot.maryland.gov or mta.maryland.gov, check us out on Facebook at facebook.com/mtamaryland and follow us on Twitter @mtamaryland.
Media Contacts:
Sandy Arnette Paul Shepard
Office: 410-767-8367 Office: 410-767-3935
Cell: 443-835-7984 Cell: 443-622-4181
sarnette@mta.maryland.gov pshepard@mta.maryland.gov
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