Transit Service

Hundreds of disabled Marylanders have been left waiting -- some for hours at a time in the cold or rain -- by late or missing vans operating under a new state contract.Disabled people and their advocates say that spotty transit service in metropolitan Baltimore has placed many blind, paralyzed, sick or elderly riders in potentially dangerous situations in the past month.Some have missed kidney dialysis or other crucial medical appointments, have been unable to take medicine on time or have been forced to wait outside for long periods, risking health and safety, they say."

Downtown Towson is on the cusp of a building boom that will transform this suburban county seat into one of the most dynamic, cosmopolitan communities in Maryland. All the elements are in place for this transformation. Towson has two institutions of higher education, Towson University and Goucher College, that not only provide world-class learning but also a work force that stabilizes the commercial core. Residential developments like Towson Green will make sure the downtown area does not become a ghost town after sunset and on the weekends.

Hundreds of disabled Marylanders have been left waiting -- some for hours at a time in the cold or rain -- by late or missing vans operating under a new state contract.Disabled people and their advocates say that spotty transit service in metropolitan Baltimore has placed many blind, paralyzed, sick or elderly riders in potentially dangerous situations in the past month.Some have missed kidney dialysis or other crucial medical appointments, have been unable to take medicine on time or have been forced to wait outside for long periods, risking health and safety, they say."

A free career expo will be held Thursday in Linthicum for veterans and transitioning servicemen and servicewomen. The job fair, hosted by Military.com and the Non-Commissioned Officers Association, will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Four Points by Sheraton, 1001 Scott Drive. Defense contractors and local businesses looking to hire former military personnel will be present, according to the hosts. For more information, go to military.com/career-expo. ywenger@baltsun.com

The state and lawyers for people with disabilities are expected to announce today a settlement in a lawsuit filed two years ago to address chronic problems with the state's transit service for disabled riders. The agreement was reached after significant improvements in that service, called Mobility and run by the Maryland Transit Administration. The service's on-time rate has increased from 77 percent to 90 percent, and customer complaints have been cut in half, according to state officials.

The Federal Transit Administration, which in 2003 chastised Maryland for providing poor public transit service to the disabled in the Baltimore region, has ended its monitoring of the state-run program because of improvements made since then. This week's decision came almost three years after the federal agency released a scathing report that helped form the basis of a lawsuit by the Maryland Disability Law Center on behalf of users of the Maryland Transit Administration's Mobility van and cab service.

Transportation Advocates, a Howard County group, will participate in a statewide Rally for Transit in Maryland from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. tomorrow at Lawyers Square, across from 84 College Ave. at Rowe Boulevard in Annapolis. The rally will support maintaining the level of transit service in Howard County and oppose the governor's plan to move money from the transportation trust fund to the general fund. Carpools to Annapolis will meet at 5:30 p.m. at the Long Gate shopping center in Ellicott City.

Officials of the Howard Area Transit Service (HATS) say they may consider adding two stops to the bus route planned for the western end of the county from Lisbon to The Mall in Columbia.Residents at a public meeting Tuesday at the George Howard Building in Ellicott City suggested that HATS, which is proposing the service, make a stop at the Howard County Senior Center on Route 97 in Glenwood and at Ellicott Enterprises on Homewood Road, a day care facility for people with developmental disabilities.

The Howard County Public Transportation Board decided unanimously last night to cut in half bus service in the western county to save money and retain riders.By a 6-0 vote, the board cut from four to two the number of daily trips offered between Lisbon and The Mall in Columbia by the Howard Area Transit Service (HATS). In June, the board had discussed eliminating the trips altogether."The key is to keep something going and to see if we can use it to its fullest potential," said board Chairman Daniel J. Maletic, explaining last night's action.

Ronald L. Freeland, who has directed Maryland's bus, subway, commuter rail and light rail operations through four roller-coaster years, announced yesterday that he is leaving as chief of the Mass Transit Administration to enter the private sector. Freeland said he will step down Aug. 21 to become a vice president with Parsons Transportation Group, a consulting firm with offices in Washington and Baltimore. He said his departure follows a timetable he laid out on accepting the top transit job in January 1997.

As of 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has imposed mandatory travel restrictions on city roads until noon Tuesday. Restrictions do not apply to uniformed personnel, hospital employees, other medical providers and Corporate Emergency Access System partners. "We need folks to stay off the roads so that our first responders can focus 100 percent on real emergency accidents as they may occur," the mayor said. "We are working closely with our hospitals and medical providers to ensure that their employees have safe routes to work.

Travel restrictions on Baltimore City roads were lifted at noon, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said. Maryland State Police are urging people to stay off roads until highway crews are able to clear away fallen trees and other traffic hazards. They warn that downed power lines and wind-blown debris are blocking roads around the state. In addition, they say, power failures have caused traffic lights to go out around the region. In Garrett County, portions of I-68 were closed due to blizzard conditions.

As of 9 a.m. Monday, traffic was slow on the outer loop of I-695 near Greenspring Avenue in Baltimore County due to an accident. An accident was slowing traffic on Snowden River Parkway near route 175 in Howard County. A disabled vehicle was slowing traffic on the outer loop of I-695 near Security Boulevard in Baltimore County. Some vehicles were prevented from driving on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge due to wind restrictions. Wind warnings have been posted for the Hatem Memorial Bridge near northeast Maryland.

Before newly reelected Gov. Martin O'Malley and Democratic leaders in Annapolis commit themselves to avoiding any tax increases in 2011 in the name of jobs, they ought to consider how neglecting public infrastructure can be just as harmful to economic growth. Don't take our word for it. Listen to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Baltimore Committee, and many other business groups that have this to say about how much the government spends on highways, bridges, transit and other forms of transportation: Spend more, please.

The opening of the first phase of the Intercounty Connector is not expected before October, but Maryland is preparing for its debut by ordering 18 "clean diesel" commuter buses for eventual transit service on the highway. The Maryland Department of Transportation's recently awarded $9.1 million contract for purchase of the buses from Motor Coach Industries of Schaumburg, Ill., will go to the state Board of Public Works for approval next week. Rather than have the Maryland Transit Administration operate the buses, the department plans to hand the job to a private contractor in an arrangement similar to that on its existing commuter bus routes.

Light Rail service * Take Light Rail to the Cold Spring Lane stop. * Take the connecting shuttle bus to the track. Shuttle bus service ends at 2 p.m. * Return service begins at approximately 6:15 p.m. and operates until 7:30 p.m. * $3.50 day pass required Metro Subway service * Take Metro Subway to the Rogers Avenue Station. * Take the connecting shuttle bus to the track. Shuttle bus service ends at 2 p.m. * Return shuttle bus service to Rogers Avenue Station begins at approximately 6:15 p.m. and operates until 7:30 p.m. * $3.50 day pass required Local bus service * Nos. 27, 91, 44 lines, plus No. 54 via Park Heights Avenue all stop near the track.

The Howard County Public Transportation Board has approved several measures to help keep afloat a bus service for disabled people that has become so successful its budget could run out as soon as April.The panel voted 5-0 Tuesday night to ask County Executive Charles I. Ecker to supplement the budget with an additional $30,000.The board also voted 4-0 -- with member Andrea Paskin abstaining -- to seek a fare increase from $1 to $2 for the Howard Area Transit Service (HATS) ADAPT program. The state Public Service Commission will make the final decision next month.

A bus company based in Savage has been awarded Howard County's two largest public transportation services.Yellow Transportation Inc. will operate the Howard Area Transit Service (HATS) and Connect-A-Ride for five years beginning July 1, with an option to renew for an additional two years, according to an announcement by officials of Corridor Transportation Corp. (CTC), which manages both services.It will be the first time that a single company has operated both services."We're very excited," said Mark L. Joseph, president of Yellow Transportation, which has been operating commuter runs for the Mass Transit Administration from Laurel to Baltimore and from Columbia to Baltimore for three years.

New federal transportation rules scheduled to stop the Maryland Transit Administration's $10 bus rides to and from park-and-ride lots to Orioles games starting tomorrow are based on a philosophical argument made nationally by private bus companies that they should not have to compete for special-event business with publicly subsidized buses. Similar public transit service in the Washington area to events such as Redskins football games are to end next year, according to news reports. It's an argument that was debated in a different political context in Howard County eight years ago, when then-County Executive James N. Robey, a Democat who is now a state senator, proposed building a second publicly owned golf course on county-owned land in West Friendship, and former Republican County Councilman Allan H. Kittleman opposed it. Kittleman, now also a state senator, argued that since government courses, such as the county-built Timbers of Troy golf course in Elkridge, pay no taxes, they can unfairly compete with privately owned courses.