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Free downtown buses on tap

3 routes would start next year, paid for by parking tax rise

May 29, 2008|By John Fritze , Sun reporter

Under a proposal that is expected to go to the City Council this summer, the city will propose a flat 15.5 percent tax on the cost of all parking, from hourly tickets to monthly contracts.

The city's transportation department has issued a request for proposals to find companies to manage the system. Dixon's administration has earmarked more than $3 million that could be used to purchase buses, and officials said they hope to have the first route in service by July 2009.

The east-west route would run along Pratt Street near the B&O Railroad Museum. Courtney B. Wilson, executive director of the museum, said the system would allow him to direct tourists to other parts of the city without having to ask them to drive.

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"What a great benefit to both the city and to all these great cultural institutions," Wilson said. "You know how I feel about this project today? I feel like the B&O Railroad Museum is about to become waterfront property."

john.fritze@baltsun.com

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