Three private companies began transporting motorists across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge on Monday if the drivers do not want to traverse the crossing themselves.
Kent Island Tire and Auto, Bay Bridge Transport and Kent Island Coach will charge motorists $30 for a service the Maryland Transit Authority used to provide for free. The service is also available to cyclists. Motorists interested in having someone else drive them across the bridge should contact one of the companies before they arrive at the bridge. Appointments can be scheduled in advance.
MTA Executive Secretary Ronald L. Freeland said taking motorists across the bridge became too time-consuming for the authority’s Vehicle Recovery Technicians, who are charged with helping disabled vehicles along the Bay Bridge. Last year the technicians assisted 4,000 motorists across the bridge.
“Now we can get them back to their core mission of helping stranded motorists, responding to emergencies and keeping traffic flowing on the bridge,” Freeland said of the technicians. “We’re confident that our customers will continue to receive the service they expect at a reasonable cost.”
AAA Mid-Atlantic spokesman Lon Anderson said the bridge’s height and its tight quarters (there are no shoulders) unnerve many motorists. Those motorists often cross the bridge anyway, he said, but drive so slow that they are a hazard to other vehicles.
“There are a lot of drivers who are really frightened about going over the bridge,” Anderson said. “It can be very intimidating. They don’t like it.”
