York bus service likely headed for Towson
A bus service that now runs between York, Pa., and the Hunt Valley-Timonium area is likely to be extended soon to several stops in Towson, a move it hopes will give it the "critical mass" to make it a clear success.
rabbittransit, the York transit provider, is in the final stages of gathering public comments about the proposed service and is tentatively expecting to launch the Towson service in mid-February, said executive director Richard Farr.
Farr said rabbittransit now offers three round-trip buses each evening and three each morning from York to the Hunt Valley and Timonium light rail stations. If the plans go as he hopes, he said, those rides would be extended to three bus stops in downtown Towson.
According to Farr, the service that connects to the Maryland Transit Administration's light rail has shown signs of growth since it was launched in February 2009. He said it's December ridership had shown a 57 percent growth between 2009 and 2010.
"I wouldn't say it was wildly successful," he said. ""I think it continues to grow in the direction we want it to go."
Farr said he thought Towson, unlike northern Baltimore County, has the required density to make the line as successful as rabbitransit hopes it will be.
"There were many requests to go to the Towson area," he said.
The proposed stops in Towson would be at 111 W. Chesapeake Ave, the Towson Commons shopping center and the Black & Decker building at 107 E. Joppa Road.
The transit agency is still taking public comments at its web site.
Farrr said most of the passengers are commuters from southern Pennsylvania to Baltimore County, but he said the service is also used by shoppers and travelers who connect with the light rail to BWI Marshall Airport. He said there are also a handful of reverse commuters who take the bus to jobs in York.
