New date set for Charm City Circulator
The first route of the Charm City Circulator -- the long-delayed free bus service promised for central Baltimore -- will make its debut Jan. 11, according to the city and the Waterfront Partnership.
Previous estimated start dates have come and gone for the project, but deputy city transportation director Jamie Kendrick insists this one is for real.
"That's a hard, fast and furious date," Kendrick said. He said the reason for the holdup was delay in receiving delivery of the clean-energy buses from the manufacturer.
The new bus service will be operated by Veolia Transportation under a contract with the city Department of Transportation, Kendrick said. He said the Waterfront Partnership will help with the marketing effort.
The first route to start operations will be the east-west Orange Route, connecting the B&O Railroad Museum with the Inner Harbor, Harbor East and Fells Point. Kendrick said two additional routes would start up over the next few months. One would connect the Cross Street Market area with Penn Station; the other would tie the Johns Hopkins Hospital with Fells Point and Harbor East.
Kendrick said people in the city might see some of the buses on the street even before Jan. 11 as operators get familiar with the routes. He said the city will begin putting down markings for bus and bike lanes on Pratt and Lombard streets Monday.
Comments
Bus and bike lanes on Pratt & Lombard???
Posted by: Mitch | December 3, 2009 7:33 PM
I will never understand why nobody can think to connect Fed Hill to Charles Village with one bus line. The 64 stops at North Ave., and now this one will stop at Penn.
Charles Street is Baltimore's main street. Why they don't have one bus going the length of it is beyond me...
Posted by: Chris | December 4, 2009 2:59 AM
Please add a $1 fare with free MTA transfer.
Otherwise the bus will be abandoned due to costs (DASH bus). Not all at once, first service will be reduced from every 10 minutes to every 20 minutes then ridership will go down and then they will justify canceling it.
Or, fares will be proposed causing an outcry and lots of public meetings for show and then fares will be put into place at half what was recommendd, which was the plan all along, but politicans will brag about it anyway.
Or, the fact that this is free will kep the bus service from expanding more since there will be no money to accomplish it.
Posted by: Richard | December 4, 2009 10:25 AM
I agree with Richard. As much as the word "free" is tantalizing, it is fraught with long-term peril. It creates the expectation that it will be forever free. People come to think of it as a "right." Even a small payment changes the rider's status from beneficiary to customer, with all the attendant right to complain about bad service. I'd prefer to see a fare of $1, payable in either bills or quarters, with no change given or small coins accepted to reduce delays and the expense of handling money. (If you have only a 5-dollar bill, you could buy a 5-ride pass. And so on. People would get used to it.)
Posted by: Michael Dresser | December 4, 2009 11:09 AM
^The is, it's the #61. Unfortunately, it doesn't run on weekends. It also used to make it's terminating loop at Montgomery St and now only goes to Conway St, thereby stopping short of Fed Hill. I think it's another byproduct of events initiated during the beloved GBBI campaign. I've long advocated weekend and higher late night frequency for that line
It's great to hear the Circulator will finally be operating. I'm a strong advocate. However, with the administratitive issues at the Parking Authority and the City's impending $130 M deficit, it might appear frivolous and be only temporary. I'm pushing in the long run to have the "yellow" service extended to Charles Village if it's popular enogh, esp. if the #61 isn't modified to serve in an effective manner.
Nate Payer
TRAC
Posted by: Nate | December 4, 2009 11:18 AM
We went on a tour on theCharm City Circulator today it wasGreat! The Businesses that are along the beginning route are Wonderful! It will be my Honor to be an Operator of the Charm City Circulator
Posted by: P. Bowser | December 17, 2009 8:54 PM
I just saw the new website is up and saw the map of the orange route and I must say that I find it very strange that the bus going eastbound stops one block from the convention center light rail stop in either direction and not at the light rail stop itself.
Granted, its just one block; however, it seems stupid to me to have it not directly link to the light rail stop, especially when it passes right by it.
Its just like the Light Rail and Metro are within two blocks of each other at Lexington Market, but not direclty linked.
Posted by: Richard | December 29, 2009 9:35 AM