The newly announced 10-cent bus-fare increase -- to $1.35 beginning March 10 -- and the sharp reduction in bus routes mean fewer riders will choose Baltimore mass transit, officials say.
Mass Transit Administration head John A. Agro Jr. estimates that the agency will lose about 10,600 riders, or roughly 3 percent of its clientele, as a result of the latest round of fare increases, which are intended to offset rising operating costs. The fare increase was announced Jan. 4.
Buses provide 270,000 rides per day. Light Rail and Maryland Rail Commuter service (MARC) handle about 20,000 passengers
each, and Metro about 45,000. MTA officials said that bus and Metro ridership has declined in recent years, although the loss has stabilized recently. They said Light Rail use has grown.
Despite the fare increase, MTA officials are betting that the system will get more passengers with the addition of new Light Rail and Metro lines.
"There is a strong effort to increase ridership in the urban and suburban areas," said David L. Winstead, secretary of the Maryland Department of Transportation. "From a planning standpoint, we continue to expand transit to get more ridership and operate efficiently."
Mr. Winstead said that the MTA is conducting a study of local bus and rail routes to anticipate where the growth will be. Mr. Agro said that although nearly 90 percent of riders live in the city, the potential for new riders will be greatest in the counties.
Construction is under way on Light Rail extensions to Penn Station, Baltimore-Washington International Airport and Hunt Valley. The $106 million, 7.5-mile project is expected to be completed by spring 1997. MTA officials predict that the ridership on Light Rail will increase by 16,000 passengers by the year 2000.
Additionally, MTA officials are studying whether to add rail service from Johns Hopkins University to White Marsh and Perry Hall, and add service to Montgomery County and west of the city along Franklin and Mulberry streets.
Also, they are looking at ways to connect Light Rail to the Metro and extend Light Rail further into Anne Arundel County.
In 1998, the MARC line will be extended by a mile in Frederick County, and MTA officials hope 1,600 more passengers will ride.
Though MTA officials seem to be looking grandly into the future, transit riders say that they should concentrate less on rail and more on city bus routes.
