Service on MTA's No. 27 route called poor
Jed Weeks of Baltimore, a regular commenter in this space, recently raised his concerns about the Maryland Transit Administration's No. 27 bus route with Administrator Ralign T. Wells. Weeks was good enough to share his concerns with Getting There:
I am a daily #27 bus rider. My most frequent commute takes me from 35th and Chestnut to around Lexington Market, and reverse home in the evening. Without fail, I encounter at least two no-show buses per week. This typically happens with the bus scheduled to arrive at 36th and Roland at either 9:25am or 9:55am. However, I have encountered no-show buses at almost every time of the day on various days trying to ride this line.
In addition to the no-show buses, I would estimate that only one bus I ride per week southbound is on time. Most are over 10 minutes late. The northbound buses seem to manage this much better.
I have documented many of these instances by tweeting at the @mtamaryland twitter account. They have tried to be helpful, and I received an email on April 5, 2011 from Karen Gronberg in the Service Quality Division letting me know they were monitoring the on-time performance of the #27 line. I have not heard back regarding outcomes from the monitoring, and clearly, nothing has improved.
I am also worried about the service reduction that will likely be occurring mid-day on the #27 line. I have already submitted my comments, but I find it disappointing that the service will be reduced, especially with increased future traffic and development in the region, and traffic analysis of the major 25th Street project in Remington being based off of current or increased service.
Basically, I find this level of service all-around completely unacceptable.
So now the question is whether Wells considers the conditions on the No. 27 line acceptable, and if not, what he plans to do about them. We'll keep you posted.
Comments
I expect MTA Administrator Wells will say all the right things but in the end nothing will change.
Posted by: Paul | June 8, 2011 12:15 PM
Hear, hear. If anything, the 27 needs MORE (and more-on-time) buses, especially with the Walmart going in basically at the line's midpoint.
Posted by: Chris Merriam | June 8, 2011 2:39 PM
He hasn't heard back because there is no problem with on-time performance! The no-show buses, presumably taken out of service, are not counted in on-time statistics. Therefore, everything is fine.
Please find another agency to which you can direct your valid concerns.
Posted by: Anonymous | June 8, 2011 2:57 PM
I think about taking the bus to get places all the time. I think about it, and then I get in the car and drive because of stories like this.
My prediction: nothing will improve until there's a major overhaul of the entire bus system. I'm talking about closing bus yards, reducing the number of stops on each line, cutting some lines entirely and adding new ones in their place.
The current system designed for commuting downtown from the near suburbs is out of date by about 40 years, and city bus service needs to be overhauled in such a way that it moves city people around the city. you'd get a lot more 27 buses showing up if they didn't have to waste time driving far out past train stations at both ends of the line. Just connect the buses to the trains, and that's it.
It seems as if every time this topic is given consideration by the powers that be, far too much emphasis is given to the demands of senior citizens, who ride those buses once a month to the doctor, and not nearly enough to the future generations of students and workers living in the city.
Posted by: The Baltimore Chop | June 8, 2011 2:59 PM
As a resident of lower Charles Village, I can attest to the fact that the #11 is every bit as unreliable. No-show buses and ridiculously late buses are so common that it's not even worth using the route's schedule.
Posted by: Spam | June 8, 2011 3:55 PM
If the buses are so often late, it's likely due to a running time issue. Correcting that may require the bus to run less frequently to allow the route more time to proceed across the line with the same number of buses. I'd rather have dependable buses every 40 minutes instead of erratic buses every "30" minutes in the midday.
Posted by: AJ | June 8, 2011 4:27 PM
Jed & Michael,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I live in Medfield and commute 5-6 days a week into Midtown. Although the 27 Bus is a stone's throw away from my front door, I take the Light Rail, a 15-minute walk away, instead because of the inconsistent and late service on the 27.
Posted by: Justin Fine | June 9, 2011 7:12 AM
Require all MTA employees to ride the buses to work, and watch service dramatically improve. As long as they're planning bus lines "for other people" bus service will remain woefully inadequate.
Posted by: Marc | June 16, 2011 11:13 PM