MTA Service Cuts Averted
The Maryland Transit Administration’s (MTA) Winter 2018 service changes went into effect earlier this month. Input from stakeholders made a difference. The MTA listened to stakeholders, reviewed new data as it became available, and implemented service changes that differed from what had initially been proposed.
At the Central Maryland Transportation Alliance we analyzed both the initial announcement of proposed changes and the changes the MTA actually implemented in February. In November, when the MTA released a summary of proposals for the Winter 2018 service changes, we analyzed the new route, the eliminated routes, and the routes with new schedules and found that the net effect would be a more than 2 percent cut in service. We reported our concerns to the MTA, contacted the news media, and encouraged stakeholders like you to make your voice heard.
Many of you submitted comments to the MTA during the official comment period. For its part the MTA acknowledged our concerns, said it was listening to public comments, and said it was continuing to review data about the performance of the just-months-old BaltimoreLink bus routes. As a result the MTA made adjustments and this month implemented Winter 2018 service changes that differed in some significant ways from what it had proposed in November.
In analysis of the changes we found that whereas the initial proposal would have cut service systemwide by about 2.5 percent, the actual changes implemented result in the level of service remaining roughly the same. The MTA added the 63 route to serve Sparrows Point, eliminated three underperforming ExpressBusLink routes (the 102, 106 and 107), shortened the CityLink Green, reduced service on the 34 and 36, and made minor changes to other routes. The 26 and 30, on which the MTA initially proposed to run fewer buses, ended being change little and not at all, respectively. Overall any cuts to service were offset by adding service elsewhere.
So will riders be better off under the changes? Our educated guess is that more people will benefit from service to the growing jobs at Sparrow’s Point than will suffer from the elimination of the three ExpressBusLink routes. We are concerned about the effect that shortening the CityLink Green could have on access to the network of high-frequency routes. But better than guessing would be using performance measures to evaluate BaltimoreLink and each round of service changes and plan future updates to achieve better results.
It is important for the MTA to be accountable by making performance data accurate and publicly available. What happened to access to jobs when the 102, 106 and 107 were eliminated, the Green shortened, and the 63 added? Do fewer people have access to high-frequency bus service as a result of ending the CityLink Green downtown instead of at the West Baltimore transit hub? What happens to the five basics of great public transportation: reliability, speed, frequency, access, and walkability?
These are important questions, but difficult to answer without better data. We urge the MTA to improve the accuracy and relevance to riders of the data it shares on the performance improvement page of its web site. We can show the way by commissioning a third-party analysis of data collected before and after the MTA implemented BaltimoreLink. This analysis could help inform public discourse about BaltimoreLink, encourage the use of measurable outcomes and point to ongoing improvements. The Transportation Alliance is seeking to raise about $10,000 to make this happen [email us if you would like to support the effort]. Keep following this blog, @cmtalliance, or www.HowsTheRide.org for updates.
