Circulator exceeds expectations, city says
The Charm City Circulator, the free shuttle bus service inaugurated by Mayor of Christmas Past Sheila Dixon as one of her last acts in office, has exceeded the city's ridership expectations, a city official reports.
Barry Robinson, transit and marine chief in the Department of Transportation, said ridership on the Circulator's initial route has grown from about 1,200 a day when it began service to 1,500-1,700 a day nine weeks later.
"It's doing great," says Robinson. "The ridership has overshot the estimates we had."
Robinson said he expects further growth on the east-west Orange Route, which runs from Hollins Market to Harbor East/Corned Beef Row, as the weather gets warmer and tourist traffic picks up.
Robinson said the remaining two routes will be launched in mid-spring to early summer as the city takes delivery of more of its clean-energy buses.
He said the city has not determined which of those lines will begin service first -- the Purple Route between Federal Hill and Penn Station or the Green Route connecting Johns Hopkins Hospital, Fells Point, Harbor East and City Hall.
When those two routes begin service, the opportunities to use public transit to reach locations in downtown and nearby city neighborhoods wiill expand dramatically -- especially for those willing to make creative connections using light rail, Metro and water taxi.
When those routes are up and running, creative minds ought to get together and organize some transit-oriented, weekend afternoon pub crawls taking in such neighborhoods as Mount Washington, Hampden, Fells Point, Harbor East, Market Place, the Inner Harbor, Federal Hill, Hollins Market, Canton and Locust Point. Highlandtown and Greektown will have to wait for the Red Line -- if it's ever built.
Comments
I see no reason why the Purple Route wouldn't come first. I'd think linking to Penn Station would be a priority over the destinations the other route provides.
Posted by: Justin..... | March 18, 2010 10:39 PM
purple route, please
Posted by: jh | March 19, 2010 10:41 AM
Another vote for the purple line, please. I ride the orange line, and it's fantastic!
Posted by: Carol Ott | March 19, 2010 11:33 AM
Another purple vote.
Posted by: scott | March 19, 2010 12:06 PM
Yes... Purple Route next ! It connects more residents, job sites, and transit points. Plus, it will take tourists from the harbor to Mt. Vernon (and vice versa).
Posted by: Mike | March 19, 2010 12:40 PM
You can already take advantage of much of the green route via Hopkins shuttles for free. The Purple route would make more sense since it would connect downtown and Penn Station with a free shuttle that will, ideally, prove the case for a future trolley line.
That being said, it's ridiculous folks are excited for the purple route, but have no interest taking the 3, 11, and 64 which all provide duplicate NB service on Charles.
Posted by: Jed | March 19, 2010 4:40 PM
Where'd the dumb idea of more pub crawls come from? I'm all for the purple route, which would be blessing for this one-car family. But we have had enough drunken slobs in South Baltimore these past two weeks. How about one in the county, where most of them come from?
Posted by: Federal Hill Jim | March 19, 2010 6:16 PM