Hitt the Brakes Before Going Green
As part of former Mayor Sheila Dixon's "Cleaner Greener Baltimore" initiative, the Charm City Circulator provides free, sustainable public transportation. We can now add this transportation route on top of Baltimore's already-crowded mass transit system, which includes the Maryland Transit Authority's convoluted networked bus system, the Light Rail's limited grid, the MARC train and the very short Metro Subway system. Hopkins students can also opt to take the Collegetown Shuttle and the JHMI shuttle.
All of these options make transportation in in Baltimore an overwhelming experience.
Although the new Circulator service is energy efficient, adding yet another line seems to just another addition in a series of Baltimore's regularly inefficient city planning. Both another line and mode of transportation only adds to Baltimore's already cloudy and confusing mass transit systems. Some locals are accustomed to riding bus routes - but more people will be inclined to use mass transit systems if they are easy to use and are not riddled with time-eating transfers. City planners should learn from the confusion that the regular MTA bus system poses and aim to consolidate our transportation plans to a simpler system.
We fully support Baltimore's shift toward a sustainable transit system. But as this new system develops, we must make sure that expansion and growth are guided by a larger vision of improving the City's currently flawed mass transit routes.
The News-Letter proposes that the City of Baltimore reconsider its mass transit design. Baltimore should not add yet another option for transit, although the sustainable Circulator has been a good initial step. If Baltimore truly wants to be a cleaner and greener city, an eco-friendly bus line that further clutters the already existing routes will not fully contribute to this vision. No one will want to use another bus system with the same confusing routes and lengthy delays found in the current MTA buses, no matter how sustainable it may be.
Baltimore needs to reassess all of its routes and re-network its transit systems so citizens and visiters can simply and efficiently reach all points of interest in the city. Adding separate bus lines that reach different points of interest is not the same as designing a system that reaches all areas of the city. Our transportation can be more accessible while saving energy in the process.
All of these options make transportation in in Baltimore an overwhelming experience.
Although the new Circulator service is energy efficient, adding yet another line seems to just another addition in a series of Baltimore's regularly inefficient city planning. Both another line and mode of transportation only adds to Baltimore's already cloudy and confusing mass transit systems. Some locals are accustomed to riding bus routes - but more people will be inclined to use mass transit systems if they are easy to use and are not riddled with time-eating transfers. City planners should learn from the confusion that the regular MTA bus system poses and aim to consolidate our transportation plans to a simpler system.
We fully support Baltimore's shift toward a sustainable transit system. But as this new system develops, we must make sure that expansion and growth are guided by a larger vision of improving the City's currently flawed mass transit routes.
The News-Letter proposes that the City of Baltimore reconsider its mass transit design. Baltimore should not add yet another option for transit, although the sustainable Circulator has been a good initial step. If Baltimore truly wants to be a cleaner and greener city, an eco-friendly bus line that further clutters the already existing routes will not fully contribute to this vision. No one will want to use another bus system with the same confusing routes and lengthy delays found in the current MTA buses, no matter how sustainable it may be.
Baltimore needs to reassess all of its routes and re-network its transit systems so citizens and visiters can simply and efficiently reach all points of interest in the city. Adding separate bus lines that reach different points of interest is not the same as designing a system that reaches all areas of the city. Our transportation can be more accessible while saving energy in the process.
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