Ann Vroom commutes regularly on the bus route from Annapolis from Washington, D.C., on the 921 route to care for her elderly mother, but she may need to find an alternative as the state moves to eliminate MARC train service and commuter bus service.
“This is the only public transportation line for folks going to (and) from jobs and tourists going to (and) from Annapolis — seeking an alternative to driving to Annapolis,” Vroom wrote in an e-mail to government officials and reporters.
The Maryland Transportation Authority’s proposal to eliminate and cut back train and commuter bus services to combat a looming budget shortage comes as demand for public transportation is booming.
MARC ridership has climbed almost 10 percent during the past year and the system averages about 34,000 riders daily, but only about 9,900 on holidays, officials said.
“Service cuts were a last resort,” MTA spokeswoman Stephanie Smith said. “The cuts were targeted to low-performing trips. In each case, the riders have options.”
MTA has cut about 60 jobs to slash the department’s administrative budget.
Officials estimate the trains and bus service cuts will save the agency about $25 million and will help alleviate the agency’s tax revenue shortage, the result of plummeting gasoline and auto sales and a deteriorating economy.
PROPOSED FOR ELIMINATION
Commuter buses:
• All service from Baltimore City to Columbia on the 310 and 311 lines
• All service from Laurel to Baltimore on the 320 line
• All service from Annapolis to New Carrollton Metrorail Station on the 921 line
• One round trip from Columbia to Washington, D.C. on the 95 line
• One round trip on the branch of the 995 line serving Oakland Mills
• Saturday service and one weekday mid-morning round trip from Columbia to Washington, D.C., on the 929 line
• All holiday service — Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day * — and the day after Thanksgiving and the day after Christmas. Only holiday service would be offered on Christmas Eve and the day after New Year’s Day.
MARC trains:
• Last two evening round trip trains on the Penn Line, trains 445, 446, 447 and 448
• All service on Mondays through Thursdays on Brunswick Line train 871
• Termination of Brunswick Line train 883 at Brunswick
• All service on the mid-day bus shuttle between Odenton and Laurel
• MARC Ten-Trip Ticket
• All holiday service on all lines for Columbus Day, Veterans Day (Effective Nov. 11) and the day after Thanksgiving and all service on all lines on the day after Christmas. Only holiday service will be offered on Christmas Eve, the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day and the day after New Year’s Day.
Service reductions are proposed to take effect Jan. 12 or sooner if the service reduction is based on a holiday.
HEARINGS ON PROPOSALS
WHEN: Noon to 2 p.m. Nov. 17
WHERE: Metropolitan Washington COG Training Center, 777 N. Capitol St. NE, Washington, D.C.
WHEN: 6 to 8:30 p.m. Nov. 18
WHERE: Owen Brown Interfaith Center, 7246 Cradlerock Way, Columbia
WHEN: 6 to 8:30 p.m. Nov. 19
WHERE: City of Laurel Municipal Center, Council Chambers, 8103 Sandy Spring Road, Laurel
WHEN: 6 to 8:30 p.m. Nov. 19
WHERE: O’Malley Senior Center, 1275 Odenton Road, Odenton
WHEN: Noon to 2 p.m. and 5 to 7 p.m. Nov. 20
WHERE: Stanton Center, Gymnasium, 92 W. Washington St., Annapolis
