97-772: The Maryland Transit Administration ( MTA ) is a state-operated mass transit administration in Maryland , and is part of the Maryland Department of Transportation . The MTA operates a comprehensive transit system throughout the Washington-Baltimore metropolitan area . There are 80 bus lines serving the Baltimore Metropolitan Area , along with rail services that include the Light Rail , Metro Subway , and MARC Train . In 2023,
194-623: A Catholic convert who sought to provide a religious haven for Catholics persecuted in England. In 1632, Charles I of England granted Lord Baltimore a colonial charter , naming the colony after his wife, Henrietta Maria . In 1649, the Maryland General Assembly passed an Act Concerning Religion , which enshrined the principle of toleration . Religious strife was common in Maryland's early years, and Catholics remained
291-507: A university , library system , music and dance conservatory , and art museum . Cumberland was Maryland's second-largest city in the 19th century. Nearby supplies of natural resources along with railroads fostered its growth into a major manufacturing center. The Progressive Era of the late 19th and early 20th centuries brought political reforms. In a series of laws passed between 1892 and 1908, reformers worked for standard state-issued ballots (rather than those distributed and marked by
388-570: A Baltimore County Public Library branch, and classroom space for the Community College of Baltimore County. Residential and commercial development is planned to follow the completion of the education buildings. There were efforts underway to extend the line northeast through the city with phase 1 to Morgan State University and phase 2 beyond the city limits to the White Marsh Town Center area. If they come to fruition,
485-410: A M4.8 earthquake from Tewksbury in central New Jersey was felt slightly throughout Maryland. Charm City Circulator The Charm City Circulator ( CCC or Downtown Circulator ) is a privately funded, public transit downtown circulator shuttle service giving riders connection to historic sites, parking, and businesses throughout downtown Baltimore for free. The newest transit system in Maryland
582-553: A century, carried on by the descendants of William Penn and Lord Baltimore—the Calvert family , which controlled Maryland, and the Penn family , which controlled Pennsylvania. The border dispute with Pennsylvania led to Cresap's War in the 1730s. Hostilities erupted in 1730 and escalated through the first half of the decade, culminating in the deployment of military forces by Maryland in 1736 and by Pennsylvania in 1737. The armed phase of
679-464: A charter from King Charles I for the territory between Massachusetts to the north and Virginia to the immediate south. After Baltimore died in April 1632, the charter was granted to his son, Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore (1605–1675), on June 20, 1632. Officially, the new "Maryland Colony" was named in honor of Henrietta Maria of France , wife of Charles I. Lord Baltimore initially proposed
776-624: A corporate, hotel, and shopping complex in Baltimore County's Hunt Valley , through the suburbs north of Baltimore and northern Baltimore and into the heart of downtown Baltimore's shopping, sightseeing, dining, and entertainment districts, past the harbor and through southern Baltimore and finally to BWI Marshall Airport and Cromwell Station/Glen Burnie in Anne Arundel County. There is also a spur to Amtrak's Baltimore Penn Station . The Light RailLink operates at grade for
873-586: A direct loss to the agency. State employees who possess a Maryland State Employee ID card can ride MTA local bus, Light Rail, and the Metro Subway free of charge. Any state employee with the ID card can get a continuation ticket to get through the gates on the Metro Subway. For the bus, the person shows the state employee ID card to the driver when boarding. On the Light Rail, they have to show the ID card only in
970-535: A few routes providing connections between suburban communities. Since the BaltimoreLink rebranding in 2017, MTA local service routes have been given either CityLink color scheme designations or LocalLink numbered designations. CityLink routes operate at higher frequency and for a longer duration than LocalLink routes, however, together they function as part of the same network and each individual route has its own duration and frequency which varies based on day of
1067-541: A highly diversified economy spanning manufacturing, retail services, public administration, real estate, higher education, information technology, defense contracting, health care, and biotechnology. Maryland is one of the most multicultural states in the country; it is one of the six states where non-Whites compose a majority of the population , with the fifth-highest percentage of African Americans , and high numbers of residents born in Africa , Asia , Central America , and
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#17327733379081164-538: A list of acts specifically prohibited on public transit vehicles, with penalties of fines up to $ 1,000 and possible jail terms for violations. In addition to the enumerated rules of behavior, Section 7-705 also allows the MTA to enforce local government laws on public transit vehicles. Many of the rules are conspicuously posted on transit vehicles, bus stops and rail platforms. Maryland Maryland ( US : / ˈ m ɛr ɪ l ə n d / MERR -il-ənd )
1261-535: A minority, albeit in greater numbers than in any other English colony. Maryland's early settlements and population centers clustered around waterways that empty into the Chesapeake Bay . Its economy was heavily plantation-based and centered mostly on the cultivation of tobacco . Demand for cheap labor from Maryland colonists led to the importation of numerous indentured servants and enslaved Africans . In 1760, Maryland's current boundaries took form following
1358-673: A mobility service in Baltimore previously operated by Lutheran Family Services. This mobility service is a "non-fixed route" service and consists of a fleet of specially converted Ford E-Series vans and Ford Crown Victorias . Some service is contracted out to MV Transportation and Transdev , but all vehicles are owned by MTA. A sub-service of the Paratransit program is MTA's Taxi Access program. The Taxi Access program ensures that any sufficiently physically disabled person that consistently requires Paratransit service can also qualify for
1455-523: A series of newspaper editorials. Maryland's urban and rural communities had different experiences during the Great Depression . The " Bonus Army " marched through the state in 1932 on its way to Washington, D.C. Maryland instituted its first income tax in 1937 to generate revenue for schools and welfare. Passenger and freight steamboat service, once important throughout Chesapeake Bay and its many tributary rivers, ended in 1962. Baltimore
1552-536: A small portion of the state's northeast corner (which drains into the Delaware River watershed). So prominent is the Chesapeake in Maryland's geography and economic life that there has been periodic agitation to change the state's official nickname to the "Bay State", a nickname that has been used by Massachusetts for decades. The highest point in Maryland, with an elevation of 3,360 feet (1,020 m),
1649-622: A state tobacco buy-out program in the 1990s. In an effort to reverse depopulation due to the loss of working-class industries, Baltimore initiated urban renewal projects in the 1960s with Charles Center and the Baltimore World Trade Center . Some resulted in the break-up of intact residential neighborhoods, producing social volatility, and some older residential areas around the harbor have had units renovated and have become popular with new populations. Maryland has an area of 12,406.68 square miles (32,133.2 km ) and
1746-470: A tool to gain popular support. The two years from 1644 to 1646 when Claiborne and his Puritan associates held sway were known as "The Plundering Time". They captured Jesuit priests, imprisoned them, then sent them back to England. In 1646, Leonard Calvert returned with troops, recaptured St. Mary's City, and restored order. The House of Delegates passed the "Act concerning Religion" in 1649 granting religious liberty to all Trinitarian Christians. In 1650,
1843-567: A unique gauge. The MTA operates bus services primarily within the Baltimore metropolitan area , with some peripheral commuter bus connections in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, Kent Island , southern Maryland, and western Maryland. The local bus network operated as a daily service is centered in and around Baltimore , with most routes traveling between the city and adjacent Baltimore County or Anne Arundel County communities, and
1940-667: A variety of topography within its borders, contributing to its nickname America in Miniature . It ranges from sandy dunes dotted with seagrass in the east, to low marshlands teeming with wildlife and large bald cypress near the Chesapeake Bay, to gently rolling hills of oak forests in the Piedmont Region , and pine groves in the Maryland mountains to the west. Maryland is bounded on its north by Pennsylvania , on its north and east by Delaware , on its east by
2037-605: Is Hoye Crest on Backbone Mountain , in the southwest corner of Garrett County , near the border with West Virginia, and near the headwaters of the North Branch of the Potomac River. Close to the small town of Hancock , in western Maryland, about two-thirds of the way across the state, less than 2 miles (3.2 km) separates its borders, the Mason–Dixon line to the north, and the northwards-arching Potomac River to
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#17327733379082134-615: Is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States . It borders Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to its east, and the national capital of Washington, D.C. to the southwest. With a total area of 12,407 square miles (32,130 km ), Maryland is the ninth-smallest state by land area , and its population of 6,177,224 ranks it
2231-474: Is being evaluated for bus rapid transit or light rail service. BaltimoreLink is an overhaul of the core MTA bus service within and around Baltimore. The announcement of the Baltimore Link plan came from Gov. Larry Hogan in 2015, as part of a $ 135 Million investment to help improve the transit system through the entire Baltimore metropolitan area. The announcement came on the heels of Gov. Hogan rejecting
2328-425: Is comparable in overall area with Belgium [11,787 square miles (30,530 km )]. It is the 42nd-largest and 9th-smallest state and is closest in size to the state of Hawaii [10,930.98 square miles (28,311.1 km )], the next smallest state. The next largest state is Maryland's neighbor, West Virginia , which is nearly twice the size of Maryland [24,229.76 square miles (62,754.8 km )]. Maryland possesses
2425-480: Is not one consistent pattern which describes each range, however. For example, LocalLink 80 is a route which provides primarily intra-city service and does not follow the "spoke-and-wheel" pattern associated with feeder routes. The numbering scheme excludes all the historic route numbers which were deprecated in 2017, and not every number in the listed ranges is used for a route. Some of the LocalLink lines are part of
2522-493: The 19th-most populous state and the fifth-most densely populated . Maryland's capital is Annapolis , and the most populous city is Baltimore . Maryland's coastline was first explored by Europeans in the 16th century. Prior to that, it was inhabited by several Native American tribes, mostly the Algonquian peoples . As one of the original Thirteen Colonies , Maryland was founded by George Calvert , 1st Baron Baltimore,
2619-550: The Aberdeen Proving Ground , and the Edgewood Arsenal were established. Existing facilities, including Fort McHenry , were greatly expanded. After Georgia congressman William D. Upshaw criticized Maryland openly in 1923 for not passing Prohibition laws, Baltimore Sun editor Hamilton Owens coined the "Free State" nickname for Maryland in that context, which was popularized by H. L. Mencken in
2716-572: The Atlantic Ocean , and on its south and west, across the Potomac River , by West Virginia and Virginia . The mid-portion of its border with Virginia is interrupted by Washington, D.C. , which sits on land that was originally part of Montgomery and Prince George's counties and including Georgetown, Maryland , which was ceded to the United States federal government in 1790 to form the Washington, D.C. Chesapeake Bay nearly bisects
2813-594: The Baltimore City Public School System and the Maryland Transit Administration provided eligible BCPSS students (usually students who live outside a predetermined area surrounding the school) during a school year with a color-coded booklet of dated tickets each month and an identification card. The tickets allowed students to ride on MTA buses, light rail, and subway free going to and from school. The farebox
2910-628: The Baltimore riot of 1861 , the first bloodshed in the Civil War. Of the 115,000 Marylanders who joined the military during the Civil War, around 85,000, or 77%, joined the Union army , while the remainder joined the Confederate Army . The largest and most significant battle in the state was the Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg . Although a tactical draw, the battle
3007-623: The Caribbean . The state's central role in U.S. history is reflected by its hosting of some of the highest numbers of historic landmarks per capita. The western portion of the state contains stretches of the Appalachian Mountains , the central portion is primarily composed of the Piedmont , and the eastern side of the state makes up a significant portion of Chesapeake Bay . Sixteen of Maryland's twenty-three counties, and
Maryland Transit Administration - Misplaced Pages Continue
3104-709: The Green Line (a proposed north–south line that would have extended from the Johns Hopkins Hospital into northeast Baltimore, possibly as an extension of the Metro Subway). As of summer 2011, the Red Line had received federal permission to enter preliminary engineering. Both lines were cancelled by Gov. Larry Hogan in June 2015. The Corridor Cities Transitway between Gaithersburg and Clarksburg
3201-487: The Hampden Shuttle Bug Route 98 . These routes can be identified by their distinctive brand colors and logos. The MTA operates 9 express bus lines in the Baltimore area, which are the 103 , 105 , 115 , 120 , 150 , 154 , 160 , and 163 . Independent bus companies operate 26 commuter bus routes in the Washington, D.C., and Baltimore regions. There are five Baltimore-bound bus lines numbered in
3298-474: The Industrial Revolution , driven by its seaports, railroad networks, and mass immigration from Europe. Since the 1940s, the state's population has grown rapidly, to approximately six million residents, and it is among the most densely populated U.S. states. As of 2015 , Maryland had the highest median household income of any state, owing in large part to its proximity to Washington, D.C., and
3395-609: The settlement of a long-running border dispute with Pennsylvania. Many of its citizens played key political and military roles in the American Revolutionary War . Although it was a slave state , Maryland remained in the Union during the American Civil War , and its proximity to Washington D.C. and Virginia made it a significant strategic location . After the Civil War ended, Maryland took part in
3492-432: The 1890s to the 1960s. All these routes were ultimately converted to rubber tire bus operations, and many of them were consolidated, extended into newly developed areas, or otherwise reconfigured to keep up with the ridership demands of the times. Additional routes and extensions were added in later years to serve communities that were later developed, and to feed into Metro and Light Rail stations that were later built. With
3589-742: The 20 years after the Revolutionary War . Across the Upper South the free black population increased from less than 1% before the war to 14% by 1810. Abolitionists Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass were born slaves during this time in Dorchester County and Talbot County , respectively. During the War of 1812 , the British military attempted to capture Baltimore, which was protected by Fort McHenry . During its bombardment
3686-586: The 300 and 400 range; while the sixteen Washington-bound bus lines are numbered in the 600 and 900 range. These routes range from 310 through 995 . Buses travelling on MD 200 are numbered in the 200 range. Five routes ranging 201 through 205 . Interactive map of the Maryland Transit Administration's rail services This system operates elevated and underground from a corporate and shopping complex in Owings Mills in Baltimore County into
3783-618: The 40th parallel would pass close to New Castle, Delaware when it falls north of Philadelphia , the site of which Penn had already selected for his colony's capital city. Negotiations ensued after the problem was discovered in 1681. A compromise proposed by Charles II in 1682 was undermined by Penn's receiving the additional grant of what is now Delaware. Penn successfully argued that the Maryland charter entitled Lord Baltimore only to unsettled lands, and Dutch settlement in Delaware predated his charter. The dispute remained unresolved for nearly
3880-592: The APTA Gold Safety Award. The MTA Police had the lowest Part One crime reported for 2015 & 2016 among the top 12 transit agencies in the country. They reported no homicides, no shootings or rapes for those two years. The following people have served as Administrators of the Maryland Transit Administration and its predecessor agencies. Section 7-705 of the Maryland Transportation article ( Annotated Code of Maryland ) enumerates
3977-442: The Baltimore streetcar took place between the years of 1947 and 1963, as operators found buses to be low maintenance and more cost-efficient. As rails were demolished, Baltimore was no longer a streetcar city. As transit needs and trends changed, rail transit did return to the city, with the Metro Subway opening in 1983 and the Light Rail in 1992. The track gauge was 5 ft 4 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ( 1,638 mm ),
Maryland Transit Administration - Misplaced Pages Continue
4074-568: The Calvert family and Lord Baltimore regained proprietary control and re-enacted the Toleration Act. After England's Glorious Revolution in 1688, Maryland outlawed Catholicism. In 1704, the Maryland General Assembly prohibited Catholics from operating schools, limited the corporate ownership of property to hamper religious orders from expanding or supporting themselves, and encouraged the conversion of Catholic children. The celebration of
4171-524: The Catholic sacraments was also officially restricted. This state of affairs lasted until after the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783). Wealthy Catholic planters built chapels on their land to practice their religion in relative secrecy. Into the 18th century, individual priests and lay leaders claimed Maryland farms belonging to the Jesuits as personal property and bequeathed them in order to evade
4268-594: The Constitution of 1864 with the Constitution of 1867 . Following the end of Reconstruction in 1877, Democrats devised means of disenfranchising blacks, initially by physical intimidation and voter fraud, later by constitutional amendments and laws. Blacks and immigrants, however, resisted Democratic Party disfranchisement efforts in the state. Maryland blacks were part of a biracial Republican coalition elected to state government in 1896–1904 and comprised 20% of
4365-476: The DC area. Likewise, SmarTrip is accepted for in-person payments on all MTA services except MARC and commuter buses. In 2017, MTA introduced a new mobile ticketing app called CharmPass, which allows passengers to pay fares on all MTA services using mobile devices. As of February 2023, the MTA is procuring modern replacements for CharmCard and CharmPass, which are "quickly reaching end-of-life". An agreement between
4462-770: The Green and Lime routes or the Blue and Navy routes. The naming scheme also does not disambiguate the colored route names of the Charm City Circulator routes operated in an overlapping service area by Baltimore or the Baltimore County Loop routes operated in an overlapping service area in Towson . LocalLink bus line designations are numbered across two ranges which loosely correspond to two categories, crosstown routes (21–38) and feeder routes (51–95). There
4559-643: The MTA announced the proposed revival of the Quickbus 40 route as the QuickLink 40 in Fall 2022. As of May 2022, the agency is soliciting public feedback on this proposal alongside other service adjustments. In Fall 2023 Quicklink 40 has been reintroduce into service mirroring the prelink Quickbus 40). Until June 2017, The MTA had two neighborhood shuttle routes: The Mondawmin Shuttle Bug Route 97 and
4656-429: The MTA's official fares. This was despite the fact that they were officially non-transferable. The MTA has since installed new fareboxes on all of its buses that issue daily passes with magnetic strips; new ticket vending machines at Light Rail and Metro Subway stations issue identical passes including the weekly and monthly passes. Weekly and monthly passes are not sold on buses. The newer day passes can be used only on
4753-924: The Maryland Transit Administration Police. The department was founded on October 1, 1971, by act of the Maryland State Legislature as the Mass Transit Administration Police Force. On October 1, 2001, when the Mass Transit Administration was renamed the Maryland Transit Administration, the police force changed its name to reflect the change. Its officers are certified by the Maryland Police and Correctional Training Commission and have full police powers. In 2015 and 2016 MTA Police were awarded
4850-430: The Metro Subway gate, unlike the transfers from the color-coded booklet from in the past. The Maryland Transit Administration has a special program set up with 24 Baltimore area colleges and universities which allows college students who are enrolled in a minimum of 6 hours per week can receive a monthly pass for $ 52.90. The MTA employs its own force of 150 police officers to protect the transit system and its passengers,
4947-1232: The Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern , and Southern regions of the country. What is now Maryland was originally inhabited by tribes such as the Piscataway (including the Patuxent ), the Nanticoke (including the Tocwogh , the Ozinie and other subdivisions), the Powhatan , the Lenape , the Susquehannock , the Shawnee , the Tutelo , the Saponi , the Pocomoke and the Massawomeck . George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore (1579–1632), sought
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#17327733379085044-402: The Piedmont in the Coastal Plain, though it straddles the border between the two regions. Earthquakes in Maryland are infrequent and small due to the state's distance from seismic/earthquake zones. The M 5.8 Virginia earthquake in 2011 was felt moderately throughout Maryland. Buildings in the state are not well-designed for earthquakes and can suffer damage easily. As well as this, notably
5141-481: The Puritans revolted against the proprietary government. "Protestants swept the Catholics out of the legislature ... and religious strife returned." The Puritans set up a new government prohibiting both Roman Catholicism and Anglicanism . The Puritan revolutionary government persecuted Maryland Catholics during its reign, known as the "plundering time". Mobs burned down all the original Catholic churches of southern Maryland. The Puritan rule lasted until 1658 when
5238-409: The Taxi Access program. The Taxi Access program allows the bearer of a Taxi Access card to take a taxicab door-to-door within the limits of anywhere MTA Paratransit vans go; i.e. within 1/3 of a mile of an MTA public transit stop of any kind. Once the trip is complete, total out-of-pocket cost for the customer is $ 3.00, and the MTA picks up the rest of the price of the fare, "paying" it to the driver in
5335-406: The United States as a united, sovereign and national state . It also became the seventh state admitted to the Union after ratifying the new federal Constitution in 1788. In December 1790, prior to the move of the national capital from Philadelphia in 1800, Maryland donated land selected by first President George Washington to the federal government for its creation. The land was provided along
5432-534: The appropriate day because the machine encodes the date and expiration time in the magnetic strip, which is read when swiped through the magnetic reader. Swiping the pass also sets a time waiting period on reuse so the pass cannot be immediately handed to a different passenger and used for free boarding. This also makes it difficult for passengers to use counterfeit passes when boarding the bus, Light Rail, and Metro Subway. The MTA continues to struggle with passengers who purchase day passes, use them, then resell them at
5529-444: The city line. Entering Baltimore County, the line goes to the surface, passing through communities along the way to commuter-based stops at Milford Mill Road (Pikesville) and Old Court Road (Pikesville). From Old Court, the tracks pass underneath the I-695/795 interchange and travel the median of 795 till their end at Owings Mills (Painter's Mill Road) This station is the centerpiece of a huge project urbanizing that immediate area, with
5626-415: The city of Baltimore, border the tidal waters of the Chesapeake Bay estuary and its many tributaries, which combined total more than 4,000 miles of shoreline. Although one of the smallest states in the U.S., it features a variety of climates and topographical features that have earned it the moniker of America in Miniature . In a similar vein, Maryland's geography, culture, and history combine elements of
5723-402: The conflict ended in May 1738 with the intervention of King George II, who compelled the negotiation of a cease-fire. A provisional agreement had been established in 1732. Negotiations continued until a final agreement was signed in 1760. The agreement defined the border between Maryland and Pennsylvania as the line of latitude now known as the Mason–Dixon line . Maryland's border with Delaware
5820-582: The eastern and western halves of Maryland were linked for the first time by the Chesapeake Bay Bridge , which replaced a nearby ferry service. Maryland's regions experienced economic changes following WWII. Heavy manufacturing declined in Baltimore. In Maryland's four westernmost counties, industrial, railroad, and coal mining jobs declined. On the lower Eastern Shore , family farms were bought up by major concerns and large-scale poultry farms and vegetable farming became prevalent. In Southern Maryland, tobacco farming nearly vanished due to suburban development and
5917-439: The election of a new pro-union governor and legislature, President Abraham Lincoln had a number of its pro-slavery politicians arrested, including the Mayor of Baltimore, George William Brown ; suspended several civil liberties, including habeas corpus ; and ordered artillery placed on Federal Hill overlooking Baltimore. In April 1861, Federal units and state regiments were attacked as they marched through Baltimore, sparking
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#17327733379086014-403: The electorate and immigrants comprised 15%, and the legislature had difficulty devising requirements against blacks that did not also disadvantage immigrants. The Progressive Era also brought reforms in working conditions for Maryland's labor force. In 1902, the state regulated conditions in mines ; outlawed child laborers under the age of 12; mandated compulsory school attendance; and enacted
6111-509: The electorate. Compared to some other states, blacks were better established both before and after the civil war. Nearly half the black population was free before the war, and some had accumulated property. Half the population lived in cities. Literacy was high among blacks and, as Democrats crafted means to exclude them, suffrage campaigns helped reach blacks and teach them how to resist. Whites did impose racial segregation in public facilities and Jim Crow laws, which effectively lasted until
6208-478: The event of a fare inspection while other passengers show their tickets. MTA employees can also ride free of charge if they carry their MTA employee ID card. In 2011, the MTA introduced electronic fare collection with a smart card called CharmCard , which is similar to and compatible with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority 's smart card, SmarTrip . As such, CharmCard can also be used to pay fares for Metrobus , Metrorail , and local bus services in
6305-420: The first line begin, the "CCC" reached the 100,000 riders milestone. Nearly six months later on June 4, the Purple Route began service travelling north-south via Charles Street & St. Paul / Light Streets . The much anticipated Green Route recently began service just outside downtown connecting City Hall to Johns Hopkins Medical Center via Broadway , Fleet Street , and President Street . On August 15, 2011,
6402-424: The first rail line to reach the Ohio River from the eastern seaboard. The state remained in the Union during the American Civil War , due in significant part to demographics and Federal intervention. The 1860 census, held shortly before the outbreak of the civil war, showed that 49% of Maryland's African Americans were free . Governor Thomas Holliday Hicks suspended the state legislature, and to help ensure
6499-559: The form of a voucher that s/he later redeems at his/her cab company headquarters. Outside of Washington, D.C., the MTA is constructing the Purple Line , a light rail system that will operate between Bethesda and New Carrollton . As of early 2024, MTA is projecting that the line will begin passenger operations in late 2027. The MTA is studied a number of proposed services, which included the Red Line (a proposed east–west light rail line that would have passed from Woodlawn pass near Patterson Park ) to Johns Hopkins Bayview Med. Ctr. and
6596-510: The frequent network alongside the CityLink routes, or operate on 24-hour schedules. In April 2022, the MTA announced a proposal to introduce the first new local bus designation since 2017, the LocalLink 32, which is intended to replace the branch of the CityLink Yellow which travels to the University of Maryland, Baltimore County . Until June 2017, The MTA operated four limited-stop routes known as Quickbus or qb , which were designated as routes qb40 , qb46 , qb47 , and qb48 . In April 2022,
6693-454: The growth in popularity of the private automobile during the 20th century, streetcar and bus ridership declined, and the needs for public transportation changed. Mass transit in Baltimore and other cities shifted from a corporate operation to a service funded and run by the government. The amount of service provided was greatly reduced, and some areas once served by streetcars are currently served by buses very minimally or not at all. The demise of
6790-466: The heart of Downtown Baltimore City's business, shopping and sightseeing districts to the world-renowned Johns Hopkins Medical Center Complex . The 15.5-mile (24.94 km) northwest-southeastbound route includes 14 station stops. Its route through the densest parts of the city is underground, from Hopkins Hospital to a portal west of Mondawmin station, where it immediately rises to an elevated concrete right of way parallel to Wabash Avenue practically at
6887-570: The initially planned Red Line and Green Line light-rail systems. BaltimoreLink has three forms of bus service: CityLink, ExpressLink, and LocalLink. System maps are available online. Maryland Transit Administration Prior to the summer of 2005, the MTA used an older fare collection system. Day passes purchased on buses were printed out by a separate machine from the bus fareboxes. It was possible to alter these passes so that they could be used on other days and to sell them to other passengers or make duplicate passes and sell them to others for cheaper than
6984-421: The legal restrictions on religious organizations' owning property. The royal charter granted Maryland the land north of the Potomac River up to the 40th parallel . A problem arose when Charles II granted a charter for Pennsylvania . The grant defined Pennsylvania's southern border as identical to Maryland's northern border, the 40th parallel. But the grant indicated that Charles II and William Penn assumed
7081-577: The line will be renamed the Green Line, coordinating with the Red Line (east-west Woodlawn/Security-Hopkins Bayview Hospital) which Maryland Governor Larry Hogan cancelled on June 25, 2017, with the creation of Baltimore Link. Baltimore's plans for transit were not mapped and $ 900 million of federally funded money was sent back. Funding for the Green Line extension is still years from being secured but includes an option to extend it as light rail or BRT from Johns Hopkins Hospital. This service travels from
7178-667: The most part, though it travels on bridges crossing several bodies of water. There are 33 station stops along the 30.0-mile (48.28 km) system. Although much of the line was single-tracked when it was built, the MTA completed a double-tracking project on February 26, 2006, and now only a few short single-track sections remain. This service operates three lines that provide commuter rail service to riders out of and into Baltimore, Washington, D.C. , Frederick , Perryville , and Martinsburg, WV , as well as several other locations in between. The MTA began offering paratransit service for persons with disabilities in 1978 when it took over
7275-513: The name "Crescentia", the land of growth or increase, but "the King proposed Terra Mariae [Mary Land], which was concluded on and inserted in the bill." The original capital of Maryland was St. Mary's City , on the north shore of the Potomac River , and the county surrounding it, the first erected/created in the province, was first called Augusta Carolina, after the King, and later named St. Mary's County. Lord Baltimore's first settlers arrived in
7372-445: The nation's first workers' compensation law. The workers' compensation law was overturned in the courts, but was redrafted and finally enacted in 1910. The Great Baltimore Fire of 1904 burned for more than 30 hours, destroying 1,526 buildings and spanning 70 city blocks. More than 1,231 firefighters worked to bring the blaze under control. With the nation's entry into World War I in 1917, new military bases such as Camp Meade ,
7469-648: The new colony in March 1634, with his younger brother the Honorable Leonard Calvert (1606–1647), as first provincial Governor of Maryland . They made their first permanent settlement at St. Mary's City in what is now St. Mary's County . They purchased the site from the paramount chief of the region, who was eager to establish trade. St. Mary's became the first capital of Maryland, and remained so for 60 years until 1695. More settlers soon followed. Their tobacco crops were successful and quickly made
7566-527: The new colony profitable. However, given the incidence of malaria , yellow fever , and typhoid , life expectancy in Maryland was about 10 years less than in New England . Maryland was founded to provide a haven for England's Roman Catholic minority. Although Maryland was the most heavily Catholic of the English mainland colonies, the religion was still in the minority, consisting of less than 10% of
7663-694: The north shore of the Potomac River from Montgomery and Prince George's counties, as well as from Fairfax County and Alexandria on the south shore of the Potomac in Virginia ; however, the land donated by the Commonwealth of Virginia was later returned to that state by the District of Columbia retrocession in 1846. Influenced by a changing economy, revolutionary ideals, and preaching by ministers, numerous planters in Maryland freed their slaves in
7760-727: The operations of the old Baltimore Transit Company on April 30, 1970. It was originally known as the Baltimore Metropolitan Transit Authority , then the Mass Transit Administration before it changed to its current name in October 2001. Many of the routes of most of the agency's current bus lines are based on the original streetcars operated by the Baltimore Transit Company and its parent companies from
7857-675: The parties); obtained closed voting booths to prevent party workers from "assisting" voters; initiated primary elections to keep party bosses from selecting candidates; and had candidates listed without party symbols, which discouraged the illiterate from participating. These measures worked against ill-educated whites and blacks. Blacks resisted such efforts, with suffrage groups conducting voter education. Blacks defeated three efforts to disenfranchise them, making alliances with immigrants to resist various Democratic campaigns. Disenfranchisement bills in 1905, 1907, and 1911 were rebuffed, in large part because of black opposition. Blacks comprised 20% of
7954-507: The passage of federal civil rights legislation in the mid-1960s. Baltimore grew significantly during the Industrial Revolution , due in large part to its seaport and good railroad connections, attracting European immigrant labor. Many manufacturing businesses were established in the Baltimore area after the Civil War. Baltimore businessmen, including Johns Hopkins , Enoch Pratt , George Peabody , and Henry Walters , founded notable city institutions that bear their names, including respectively
8051-636: The patron spending a dime. The plan was to launch three routes connecting across the inner-city, but delays in bus delivery caused routes to be implemented over 18 months rather than all at once. Service is seven days-a-week, with ten-minute intervals between buses. On January 11, 2010; the Orange Route became the pilot service for the Charm City Circulator travelling east-west via Pratt Street / Lombard Street , Central Avenue , and Baltimore Street . As soon as three months after service of
8148-482: The principle of partus sequitur ventrem , by which children took the social status of their mothers, a principle of slave law that was adopted throughout the colonies, following Virginia in 1662. Many of the free black families migrated to Delaware, where land was cheaper. As the flow of indentured laborers to the colony decreased with improving economic conditions in England, planters in Maryland imported thousands more slaves and racial caste lines hardened. Maryland
8245-476: The song " The Star-Spangled Banner " was written by Francis Scott Key ; it was later adopted as the national anthem. National Road, later renamed U.S. Route 40 , was authorized in 1817 as the federal highway, and ran from Baltimore to St. Louis . The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O), the first chartered railroad in the United States, opened its first section of track for regular operation in 1830 between Baltimore and Ellicott City , and in 1852 it became
8342-692: The south. Portions of Maryland are included in various official and unofficial geographic regions. For example, the Delmarva Peninsula is composed of the Eastern Shore counties of Maryland, the entire state of Delaware , and the two counties that make up the Eastern Shore of Virginia , whereas the westernmost counties of Maryland are considered part of Appalachia . Much of the Baltimore–Washington corridor lies just south of
8439-559: The state, and the counties east of the bay are known collectively as the Eastern Shore . Most of the state's waterways are part of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, with the exceptions of a tiny portion of extreme western Garrett County (drained by the Youghiogheny River as part of the watershed of the Mississippi River ), the eastern half of Worcester County (which drains into Maryland's Atlantic coastal bays), and
8536-597: The system had a ridership of 52,922,000, or about 216,900 per weekday as of the third quarter of 2024. With nearly half of Baltimore residents lacking access to a car, the MTA is an important part of the regional transit picture. The system has many connections to other transit agencies of Central Maryland, Washington, D.C. , Northern Virginia , and south-central Pennsylvania ( Hanover , Harrisburg , and York ): WMATA , Charm City Circulator , Regional Transportation Agency of Central Maryland , Annapolis Transit , Rabbit Transit , Ride-On , and TransIT . The MTA took over
8633-467: The total population. In 1642, a number of Puritans left Virginia for Maryland and founded the city of Providence, now called Annapolis , on the western shore of the upper Chesapeake Bay . A dispute with traders from Virginia over Kent Island in the Chesapeake led to armed conflict. In 1644, William Claiborne , a Puritan, seized Kent Island while his associate, the pro-Parliament Puritan Richard Ingle , took over St. Mary's. Both used religion as
8730-553: The traditionally Southern and Tidewater culture that previously dominated most of the state. Agricultural tracts gave way to residential communities, some of them carefully planned such as Columbia , St. Charles , and Montgomery Village . Concurrently the Interstate Highway System was built throughout the state, most notably I-95 , I-695 , and the Capital Beltway , altering travel patterns. In 1952,
8827-418: The week and time of day. Most of the routes originate in whole or in part from routes which followed a cohesive number scheme prior to 2017; that number scheme in turn was derived directly from the corresponding historical streetcar routes. CityLink bus line designations are each assigned a color and two-letter abbreviation for that color. Some of the color designations describe shades of the same color, such as
8924-421: Was a major war production center during World War II . The biggest operations were Bethlehem Steel 's Fairfield Yard, which built Liberty ships ; and Glenn Martin , an aircraft manufacturer. Maryland experienced population growth following World War II. Beginning in the 1960s, as suburban growth took hold around Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, the state began to take on a more mid-Atlantic culture as opposed to
9021-481: Was able to issue magnetic transfers to ticket holders who must use more than one bus. They were valid for 90 minutes of unlimited travel at the driver's discretion. In 2011, a new agreement was put in place for the students. Instead of the color-coded booklet, they were issued a monthly bus pass called an S-Pass. It is a bus pass that is valid for the given month from 6 am until 8 pm. The S-Pass can allow students to ride and pass through an unlimited times through
9118-561: Was based on a Transpeninsular Line and the Twelve-Mile Circle around New Castle. Most of the English colonists arrived in Maryland as indentured servants , and had to serve a several years' term as laborers to pay for their passage. In the early years, the line between indentured servants and African slaves or laborers was fluid, and white and black laborers commonly lived and worked together, and formed unions. Mixed-race children born to white mothers were considered free by
9215-444: Was considered a strategic Union victory and a turning point of the war. A new state constitution in 1864 abolished slavery and Maryland was first recognized as a "Free State" in that context. Following passage of constitutional amendments that granted voting rights to freedmen , in 1867 the state extended suffrage to non-white males. The Democratic Party rapidly regained power in the state from Republicans . Democrats replaced
9312-416: Was established in 2008, but did not begin inaugural service until January 11, 2010 because of funding issues. The system operates five routes on major streets throughout downtown. The system also connects to the city's water taxi and MTA Maryland . The Charm City Circulator started as a plan by former mayor Sheila Dixon to make Baltimore an eco-friendly city and utilize transport throughout Downtown without
9409-617: Was one of the thirteen colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution . Near the end of the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), on February 2, 1781, Maryland became the last and 13th state to approve the ratification of the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union , first proposed in 1776 and adopted by the Second Continental Congress in 1778, which brought into being
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