Rider frustrated with performance of No. 1 bus
Maryland Transit Administration rider Youssef Mahmoud is frustrated with the performance of the No. 1 bus route, which runs from Sinai Hospital to Fort McHenry.
Let's let Mahmoud state his case:
A few weeks ago you put up a Getting There post about some bus routes that were getting reworked to address chronic lateness. I commented on that post saying that I was shocked the route 1 bus was not on that list as I seldom had a timely experience with it. You forwarded my comment to MTA spokesman Terry Owens, who gave the useless reply that the on-time rate for the route 1 is 90% and therefore there was nothing to worry about. Well, I was just again today made late to work by the route 1 and I was hoping you could get me directly in touch with someone at the MTA who will actually listen to my complaint and offer a helpful response. So, let me give you some background.
I started working at Tide Point less than 3 months ago. Prior to that time, I had never taken the route 1 bus. I start work at 7am, and due to the nature of the business, the person before me cannot leave until I arrive. I usually ride my bike to work, but if it's precipitating or excessively windy, or if I'm feeling lazy, I take the bus. Thus, I would say I take the bus to work a little more than once per week. On weekdays (I work some weekend shifts), when I take the bus I need to leave my house in Charles Village at 5:55am to get to work by 7 according to the MTA schedule.
While my first bus (the 61) is fairly reliable, the route 1 bus that I pick up on Light St has only been on time ONCE since I started making this commute. That's once in a dozen or more attempts. It is supposed to arrive at Redwood and Light at 6:23 and Pratt and Light at 6:24. It typically arrives some time between 6:35 and 6:40. One time I waited until 7:05, when a route 1 bus passed my stop, too full to pick anyone up. I ended up taking the 64 down to Digital Harbor High and then walking the rest of the way to work. I was close to 1 hour late that day. Today, the 1 did not arrive until 6:49. The bus that picked me up was #9948. I couldn't tell you if it was a very late 6:24 bus or a (technically) on time 6:45 bus. That's one of the things I'm hoping the MTA will tell me. In any case, I was almost 15 minutes late for work.
Now, I have reported issues with this bus several times, through facebook, twitter, and mta's complaint form on their website. I have yet to get a response from anyone other than the BS I got from Mr. Owens on your blog. I'm hoping beyond hope that you will know someone at the MTA who will actually help me. The way I see it, they are neglecting one of the very riders that they should be trying to attract - a city resident who can afford a car but gave it up in favor of walking, biking, and transit. In other words, a coveted choice rider. They're going to need more choice riders if they ever want the political clout to do more things that cost money or inconvenience drivers, like building more rail lines, buying new buses, creating dedicated bus lanes, or giving full signal preemption to the light rail line. So they need to pay attention to me. Then maybe when I talk to my car-dependent friends, I will have good things to say about riding MTA, instead of a laundry list of complaints that make them grasp their car keys just a little bit harder.
I'll forward this complaint too the MTA and give the agency a chance to respond. It would certainly be timely if the MTA could get its act together on the No. 1 in time for the War of 1812 Bicentennial -- either by fixing the route or turning the Fort McHenry segment over to the city's Charm City Circulator.
Comments
Quick fix (for Youssef): if you can get to work at 7:04am instead of 7:00am, try taking the free water taxi from Maritime Park to Tide Point. The first one leaves at 7:00am on the dot. You can get there by taking the #11 (instead of the #61) on Charles St down to Fleet & Caroline in Fells Point, then walking a few blocks down to the water. The total commute time will be comparable to your current 1h05 time.
Long-term fix: the MTA needs to better service Tide Point by running a new route down Key Highway and the Key Highway Extension. This will alleviate some of the strain on the #1 bus, which is primarily used in the morning rush by students to get to their schools in Federal Hill and Locust Point.
An ideal solution, incidentally, would be to continue the #61 route down Light to Key Highway and the Key Highway Extension. This would work well, as the #61 only runs on weekdays during rush hours, which is exactly the need for Tide Point employees.
Posted by: A fellow Tide Pointer | March 14, 2011 4:27 PM
What I couldn't help but notice in this story is that, even if MTA was running 100% on time, Mr. Mahmoud would be looking at a 65 minute one-way commute. By comparison, Google Maps indicates that the trip by car from 3201 St. Paul Street (a Charles Village address I chose at random) to Tide Point would take 18 minutes. If the return trips are of comparable duration (a reasonable supposition, I think), then Mr. Mahmoud is investing about an hour and a half each day for the privilege of riding the bus. If he's willing to do that to keep one more car off the road, then we all should thank him. But that's a trade-off few are going to want to make, no matter what the price of gasoline may be. This simply emphasizes what a challenge we face with mass transit in this country.
Posted by: Jim | March 14, 2011 6:09 PM
@A fellow Tide Pointer:
Thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately, due to the nature of my work, I need to at least TRY to arrive shortly prior to 7, so the water taxi is not a feasible option.
I completely agree with your idea about extending the 61 line. It seems to be way under capacity at the moment anyway, and it would add service to an area that is severely lacking.
And Mike, thank you for continuing to publicize the mess that is our public transit system.
Posted by: Youssef | March 16, 2011 5:41 AM
@Jim, I think part of the reason I get so mad when MTA is late is that even their on time performance is so underwhelming. They set the standard exceedingly low, and then they somehow don't even live up to that.
Posted by: Youssef | March 16, 2011 6:12 PM