Howard County commuters this week will need to adjust to cutbacks to Maryland Transit Administration’s commuter bus lines that run to downtown Baltimore.
The changes, which go into effect Monday, include combining the 310 and 311 lines, which operate between Columbia and Baltimore, from eight northbound and nine southbound trips a day to six northbound and six southbound trips a day.
The 320 line, which operates between Laurel and Baltimore, also will be reduced from five northbound and six southbound daily trips to three northbound and three southbound daily trips.
“We are very happy that we were able to preserve the service — we originally weren’t going to have it at all,” said Cheron Wicker, a spokeswoman for MTA who also uses the bus to commute to work.
“A lot of MTA employees use it, so we know the value.”
To provide another alternative, MTA on Feb. 8 will extend its 150 Express route, which originally took riders from Baltimore to Ellicott City but will now go from Baltimore to Town Center in Columbia, she said.
This past year MTA, as part of an overall budget reduction plan to offset declining revenue from the national economic collapse, had proposed completely eliminating the three commuter bus lines from the county.
Howard County Executive Ken Ulman, Gov. Martin O’Malley and transportation advocates have publicly lauded the decision that once seemed improbable.
Residents then spoke out a public hearing demanding that some lines be retained.
“They were going to remove them. If you totally eliminate them, then you’re going to strand people,” said Sharonlee Vogel, chairwoman of Transportation Advocates, a group seeking to raise awareness for public transportation.
“A lot of pressure was put on them from transportation advocates that really got governments to sit down and talk to each other.”
MTA officials agreed and said that without restoring some of the trips, Howard commuters would be without a regular service transit option to Baltimore.
The service reductions are expected to bring in annual savings of $634,000.
The restructured buses routes are expected to carry about 1,900 people a week.
