[Greater-Baltimore] announcement of new commuter bus service Baltimore to Anapolis

[Cheryl Fogle-Hatch]

This is a press release, and I have no additional information.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Free Trial Rides Offered for First Two Weeks on New Express Commuter
Bus Routes 210 & 215

BALTIMORE, MD (FEBRUARY 22, 2017) – As part of Governor Larry Hogan’s
BaltimoreLink transformative transit plan to better connect
Marylanders to life’s
opportunities, the Maryland Department of Transportation’s Maryland
Transit Administration (MTA) will roll out two new express Commuter
Bus routes – 210
and 215 – on Wednesday, March 1, to connect Kent Island and Annapolis
to Baltimore City. As an incentive to encourage riders to try this new
express Commuter
Bus service, the MTA will offer free rides for the first two weeks,
from March 1 to 14.  After the free service period, the fares listed
below will apply.

“This is a new commuter service designed to link people to
opportunities in downtown Baltimore and Annapolis,” said MTA
Administrator and CEO Paul Comfort.
“These new BaltimoreLink enhancements will connect Annapolis,
Baltimore City and the Eastern Shore. It’s yet another way we’re
keeping our promise to better
connect people to jobs, retail, healthcare and entertainment.”

Commuter Bus 210 will have three morning trips starting on Kent Island
with stops in Annapolis. There also will be two morning trips starting
in Annapolis
with other stops in Anne Arundel County before arriving in Baltimore.
Drop-off locations in Baltimore include:  the University of Maryland
at Baltimore
campus, Charles Street Metro Station, City Hall and The Johns Hopkins
Hospital.  For full details on the new commuter bus service, go to
this link:
 https://mta.maryland.gov/content/commuter-buslink-newly-proposed-routes-210-and-215.

The afternoon route on Commuter Bus 210 will be a reverse service to
Annapolis and Kent Island, with five trips going to Annapolis and
three continuing
to Kent Island.

The new service will operate on non-holiday weekdays.  Fares are $6
between Kent Island and Baltimore; $5 between Annapolis and Baltimore;
and $4 between
Kent Island and Annapolis.

Commuter Bus 215 will consist of three morning roundtrips starting in
Baltimore and terminating in Annapolis.  The afternoon route will
provide reverse
service to Baltimore.  Commuter Bus 215 will operate on non-holiday
weekdays only.  The fare between Annapolis and Baltimore is $5.

Exact details of the routes can be found in the maps below or you can
download the full details at this link:
 https://mta.maryland.gov/content/commuter-buslink-newly-proposed-routes-210-and-215

“Once people, who drive between Kent Island, Annapolis and Baltimore,
see the ease, convenience and low cost of riding Commuter Bus 210 and
215, we are
confident many will choose to ride transit instead,” Administrator
Comfort added.

Commuter Bus 210 and 215 will make numerous connections to local
Annapolis Transit at the Annapolis Mall stop, along with connections
to MTA’s Light Rail,
Metro Subway and Local Bus routes in downtown Baltimore.

BaltimoreLink is the multi-phase plan to create an interconnected
transit system by redesigning the entire local and express bus systems
throughout Baltimore
and adds 12 new high-frequency, color-coded bus routes that improve
connections to jobs and to MARC Train, Metro Subway and Light Rail.
BaltimoreLink transforms
Baltimore’s half-a-century-old and outdated transit network with
implementation of bus-only dedicated lanes, installation of transit
signal priority, construction
of a transfer hub network, rebranding and replacement of more than
6,000 transit signs, expanded commuter bus service, new shared bicycle
availability,
access to car-sharing options and more. New Express BusLink launched
its suburb-to-suburb service in June 2016. As promised, expanded and
new Commuter
Bus service has seen launches in the summer and fall of 2016 with more
coming this spring. High-frequency CityLink routes launch in the
summer of 2017.