Maryland Governor Pitches Frequent Bus Lines as Alternative to Dead Light Rail Plans

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan infamously killed plans for the $2.9 billion Red Line light rail project earlier this year, but now he's back with an alternative that would spend $135 million to overhaul Baltimore's bus system.

October 23, 2015, 5am PDT | James Brasuell | @CasualBrasuell

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Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced a $135 million plan to revamp the Baltimore transit system earlier this week, reports James Briggs. "The plan, called BaltimoreLink, will introduce 12 high-frequency, color-coded bus routes that connect users to transit hubs, such as MARC Train stations, and major employers, such as Johns Hopkins. Those new routes will be named CityLink."

"The restructured Baltimore transit system will connect commuters to 745,000 jobs and give 205,000 people access to high-frequency routes, according to the Hogan administration. The plan also includes improving the efficiency of existing bus routes," adds Briggs.

The article describes more detail about the proposal, which could be fully implemented by 2017, if it moves forward according to Gov. Hogan's plans. Briggs notes political opposition to the proposal from local and regional interests, represented by Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz, respectively. Both opposed Gov. Hogan's decision to kill funding for the Red Line light rail project.

WBAL provides additional coverage of Gov. Hogan's announcement.

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Larry Hogan announces $135M transit plan, revamped bus routes for Baltimore

Published on Thursday, October 22, 2015 in Baltimore Business Journal