Tuesday, June 14, 2005

Number 64 Bus

Back in August of 2001 I wrecked my car pretty bad, so bad it was in the shop for almost six weeks being repaired. During that time, I had to be creative in getting back and forth to work. Fortunately during that time, I was out of town for a week, where I didn’t need a car. I used to catch the number 64 bus home most of the time, even though its closest stop was three miles from my house at the time. The biggest problem is that the bus that went all the way from downtown to the county only ran about once per hour. If it weren’t for that, I may have used the bus even when my car was working.

Recently, the MTA has decided to change the bus routes, one of the lines they are planning to change is the number 64’s stops in Anne Arundle County. They cite the low number of daily riders to these stops. Perhaps, running to Rivera Beach as frequently as all of the other stops in Baltimore City would increase the number of daily riders, and in turn, lower the taxpayer subsidy, while providing an alternative to those who drive to Baltimore daily, who like myself, would prefer not to pay $10 per day to park or sit in increasingly congested traffic (behind the wheel at least).

None of this really matters to me now, as I live in Frederick County. I still use public transportation when it makes sense, for example, when commuting to DC, I prefer to use the MARC train instead of sitting in the parking lot known as I270 every day. I do agree that the MTA needs some changes, and some routes, it will make sense to cut, but others, maybe an increase in service would have the desired effect of lowering the taxpayer subsidy per rider.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

The problem with the 64 is lack of park & ride areas. The merchants in Riviera Beach and along Energy Pkwy do NOT want you to park in their lot all day

mom

Anonymous said...

I also read that the 64 will use Charles St northbound and Maryland Ave/Cathedral St southbound - less convienient for me than the current NB/SB route on Calvert & St. Paul. I have e-mailed MTA about the need for a Park & Ride at Energy Parkway (no reply yet) - I think they could strike a deal with BGE - who always wants to look like a "good neighbor"
~mom