Greater Baltimore Bus Initiative (GBBI)

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The Greater Baltimore Bus Initiative (GBBI) was a sweeping overhaul planned by the Maryland Transit Administration that was announced in the early summer of 2005. The plan involved changes to all but six of the agency's then 59 local bus lines and many of its commuter services. These modifications including some expansions, increased frequency of service on some lines, consolidation of some lines, and elimination of others.

[edit] Improvement

The Greater Baltimore Bus Initiative was dubbed by MTA as being a set of improvements to the region's bus system. According to MTA, service would be improved in the following ways:

• Frequency would be increased in many areas
• Service would be simplified from a set of lines with many branches each to a set of routes with all trips following the identical route
• There would be longer layovers, allowing for more recovery time and better reliability
• Lines would be made more direct with fewer transfers being made necessary and fewer deviations off the main routes.
• Bus stops would be better placed to strike a balance between access and efficiency.

Some of the improvements to be made under the plan were to:

• Provide rapid west-east crosstown service on a new No. 40 Line that would operate from Security Square Mall to Essex Park-and-Ride.
• Combine lines that operate between downtown and one end of town for single-seat crosstown service. These included combining the nos. 2 and 10 lines for a Catonsville-to-Dundalk line, and the nos. 31 and 35 lines for a UMBC to White Marsh service.
• Eliminate duplication of service by multiple bus lines in order to use the savings generated to provide additional service on other lines.
• Provide improved bus service to landmarks where ridership was in greater demand, including colleges, universities, hospitals, and shopping malls.
• Provide improved crosstown service, as most riders today are not trying to travel downtown, but rather other places in the city.
• Provide improved midday service, as midday ridership has steadily increased over the years.

[edit] Originally Planned Changes

• The No. 1 Line would operate between Mondawmin and Fort McHenry only, and service along Greenspring Avenue would be provided by a new No. 28 Line.
• The No. 2 Line would be combined with the No. 10 Line.
• The No. 3 Line would no longer have any deviations off of Loch Raven Boulevard. Service would operate to Cromwell Bridge Road, with peak hour short turns at Taylor Avenue.
• The No. 4 Line would no longer operate between Franklin Square Hospital and White Marsh, or via Yellow Brick Road. Northbound service along Merritt Boulevard would follow the South route of North Point Road and Wise Avenue.
• The No. 5 Line would no longer operate via Reservoir Hill, and a new no. 28 line would serve this area. All trips would operate via Johns Hopkins Hospital.
• The No. 7 Line would be eliminated. Riders would be expected to walk a few blocks to the nos. 5, 10, 11, 20, or 23 lines, depending on the part of the route.
• The No. 8 Line would be split into two lines: The nos. 8 and 9. The no. 8 line would operate between downtown and Lutherville, and the No. 9 Line from Lutherville to Hunt Valley. There would be no service to Loveton or Stella Maris.
• The No. 10 Line would be combined with the no. 2 line, and extended west to Catonsville, with service to State Center not provided on this line. The Sparrows Point and Inverness branches would be eliminated.
• The No. 11 Line would operate from GBMC downtown via a single route through Rodgers Forge, with service discontinued on portions of Charles Street, Bellona Avenue, and St. Albans Way. From downtown, the line would operate to Canton Waterfront. The No. 36 Line would provide service between downtown and Riverview.
• The no. 13 line would follow a new simplified routing pattern along Patterson Park Avenue, with service discontinued on Washington/Wolfe Streets, and on Milton Avenue. The Social Security branch would be discontinued, with riders encouraged to use the no. 44 line, and service to Lower Canton would not be provided.
• The no. 14 line would be split into two lines. The new route of the no. 14 line would be from Patapsco to Jumper's Hole, without any special branches. A new no. 41 line would operate from Cromwell Light Rail Stop to Annapolis.
• The no. 15 line would operate via its current route from Overlea to Walbrook Junction, then via the no. 91 route to Sinai Hospital. Service north of Overlea to Perry Hall to White Marsh would not be provided, and service west of Walbrook Junction would be provided by the no. 68 line.
• The no. 16 line would operate via a new routing through the Rosemont area, and would no longer serve Violetville. The frequency would be doubled except on Sunday.
• The no. 17 line would be eliminated except for service between BWI Airport and downtown while the light rail is not operating. Riders wishing to reach points between BWI Airport and Arundel Mills would be diverted to Howard County Transit's Red Express Route. Service to other parts of the line in Anne Arundel County would not be provided.
• The Joppa Heights branch of the no. 19 line would be eliminated.
• The no. 20 line would operate from Hilton & Franklin to CCBC Dundalk. Service west of Hilton Street would not be provided, and riders would be within a close walk of the nos. 23, 40, and 77 lines, depending on the part of the route.
• The no. 21 line would not be changed.
• The frequency of service on the no. 22 line would be doubled. All trips would be extended to Bayview Medical Center, and the Lombard and Kane branch would be eliminated.
• The no. 23 line would operate from the Catonsville Wal-Mart to Fox Ridge on all trips. Routing in the downtown area would shift to Fayette/Baltimore Streets, and all other branches would be eliminated (including Wildwood, Middle River, Victory Villa/Pulaski Industrial Park, and Wilson Point).
• The no. 24 line would not be changed.
• Service on the no. 27 line would be provided by the nos. 29 and 64 lines and a new no. 28 line. The no. 29 line would provide service between downtown and Cherry Hill. The no. 64 line would be extended north to Mt. Washington to cover the Cross Keys and Hampden areas, and the new no. 28 line would serve the Mt. Washington community. There would be no service to Seton Business Park or Port Covington.
• A new no. 28 line would be formed that would operate between the Mt. Washington and North Avenue Light Rail Stops, replacing portions of the nos. 1, 5, and 27 lines that would no longer serve those areas.
• The no. 29 line would provided bi-directional routing from the Cherry Hill community loop to the Cherry Hill Light Rail Stop, with selected trips into downtown Baltimore along the Paca/Greene corridor.
• The no. 31 line would be combined with the no. 35 line.
• The no. 33 line would provide an increased level of midday and weekend service with no routing change.
• The no. 35 line would incorporate the route of the no. 31 line, and be extended west to UMBC. All trips would be extended to White Marsh Mall. Deviations along the route via the CCBC Essex campus, Rosedale, and Armistead Gardens would no longer operate.
• The no. 36 line would incorporate the southern portion of the no. 11 line and be extended southwest of downtown to Riverview.
• A new no. 40 line would be formed that would provide limited stop service between Security Square Mall and Essex Park-and-Ride lot, mostly along the corridor served by the no. 23 line.
• All trips on the no. 44 line would be extended either to Security Square Mall or the Social Security Administration. The Brighton branch would be discontinued, and service along its route would not be provided. Riders wishing to reach points along the Brighton branch would be within a close walk of the nos. M-2, M-3, M-9, or M-10 lines.
• The no. 50 line would not be changed.
• All trips on the no. 51 line would operate to Patapsco via Mt. Winans. The Cherry Hill branch would be eliminated.
• Midday service on the no. 55 line would be improved, and Sunday service would be added. Trips would no longer operate via Marshfield Business Park.
• The no. 61 line would be discontinued. Riders along Roland Avenue would have to walk to other lines.
• The no. 64 line would be extended north of North Avenue to Mt. Washington, incorporating a portion of the no. 27 line. Riviera Beach trips would operate only as far as Energy Parkway.
• The no. 65 line would be discontinued dur to extremely low ridership.
• The no. 68 line would be extended to Security Square Mall and the Mondawmin Metro Subway Station, and would replace a portion of the no. 15 line. Service would operate along Windsor Mill Road rather than Forest Park Avenue.
• All trips on the no. 77 line would be extended to the Patapsco Light Rail Stop, with a routing change to serve Halethorpe Industrial Park. The frequency would be improved to every 30 minutes except on Sundays.
• The no. 86 line would be discontinued. Riders would be directed to transfer to the no. 44 line from various north-south routes.
• The no. 91 line would be discontinued. Improved service along Garrison Boulevard would be provided by the no. 15 line. Riders along Eutaw Place would be directed to walk to the no. 5 line.
• The no. 97 Mondawmin Shuttle Bug would be reduced to one bus every hour.
• The no. 98 Hampden Shuttle Bug would be discontinued.
• The no. 102 line would be discontinued, and service would be provided by the no. M-17 line.
• The no. 103 Towson-Hopkins express bus would be discontinued, and riders would be directed to transfer from the no. 8 line.
• The no. 104 Cromwell Bridge-Hopkins express bus would be discontinued, and riders would be directed to transfer from the no. 3 line.
• The no. 105 line would be discontinued, and riders would be directed to walk to the nos. 3, 8, 11, or 19 lines.
• The no. 150 line would be discontinued. Riders in the city would be directed to use the new no. 40 line, and service to Ellicott City, said to be a failure, would not be provided.
• The no. 160 line would be disontinued. Service between Essex Park-and-Ride and downtown would be provided on the no. 40 line. Riders to Fox Ridge could use the improved no. 23 line, and service to Oliver Beach would not be provided.
• The no. M-1 line would operate between the Milford Mill loop and Mondawmin only. Service on Milford Mill Road would be provided by the no. M-8 line, and service on Scotts Level not provided.
• The no. M-2 line would not be changed.
• The no. M-3 line would not be changed.
• The no. M-6 line would no longer operate, and the no. 44 line would be extended to Security Square Mall to replace this service.
• The no. M-8 line would operate from Randallstown to the Milford Mill Metro Subway Station rather than Rogers Avenue. Service on Liberty Road between Milford Mill Road and Northern Parkway would be provided by the no. M-1 line. The no. M-8 line would also be extended to the Owings Mills Metro Subway Station via the McDonough Road corridor.
• The no. M-9 line would not be changed.
• The no. M-10 line would operate between the Reisterstown Plaza Metro Subway Station and the Mt. Washington Light Rail Stop only, with service on Old Pimlico and Falls Roads not provided. Midday and weekend frequencies would be improved.
• The no. M-12 line would be discontinued, and service no longer provided.
• The no. M-17 line would operate to the Business Center at Owings Mills and to Red Run Boulevard only, no longer serving T. Rowe Price or the Owings Mills corporate campus. Late evening and weekend service to Rosewood would be provided to replace the no. 102 line.

[edit] Criticism

Despite word from MTA that the Greater Baltimore Bus Initiative was a set of improvements, riders, delegates, advocates, and the local media heavily criticized the plan as one of massive disadvantage to riders. According to critics, GBBI would make travel more difficult for riders in the following ways:

• Bus service was to be eliminated on certain streets, requiring riders, including the elderly and disabled, to walk a few extra blocks to reach a bus line.
• Certain lines and branches of some lines serving various employers were to be eliminated. MTA described these as underutilized branches.
• Travel for some would be more complicated, requiring additional transfers. For those less able to adapt, travel would be even more troubling.
• MTA only told the public about the positive impact resulting from these changes, and hid much of the negative impact, including frequency reductions at certain times.
• Word of these changes was not being well announced to non-English-speaking riders.

At hearings that were held, allowing riders and others to voice their comments, riders were mostly seen as angry.

The plan was also criticized for being deceptive. While the advantages provided to riders were highlighted, the losses of service or reductions in frequency that resulted were mentioned little if at all. Some of the unnoted negative impacts were:

• The reduction in frequency of evening service on many lines.
• The reduction of peak hour service on the no. 4 line to one bus per hour. This was paired with the elimination of all no. 10 service along Wise Avenue.
• The proposed elimination of all bus service on Pratt/Lombard Streets east of Broadway was not mentioned at all in literature.
• The 20-minute headways mentioned on the No. 8 Line are only for a 3-hour period, with 30-60 minute headways at other times.
• The proposed elimination of No. 15 Line service on Belair Road north of Overlea was not mentioned at all in literature.
• No mention was made of a plan to eliminate all bus service to Port Covington and Seton Business Park (No. 27 Line).

[edit] Scaled back plan

In August 2005, as a result of all the complaints, MTA announced a scaled-back version of GBBI, in which fewer than 30 changes would be made to area bus lines. These changes were described to be less controversial.

On October 23, 2005, the changes, dubbed as Phase I, were implented. Service was added, eliminated, reduced, or modified on just 26 lines in the system, where MTA believed these changes would have only a minimal negative impact.

Nevertheless, the changes were met by riders with disdain. Many riders were still forced to walk farther, transfer, or wait longer for buses, and some riders were left without any service. Others complained that the new lines were less reliable.

The changes that took place on October 23, 2005, were as follows:

• The nos. 2 and 10 lines were combined as planned to form the new no. 2/10 line.
• The no. 4 line was modified as planned, except that its northern terminus became the CCBC Essex campus rather than Franklin Square Hospital.
• The no. 8 line was split into the nos. 8 and 9 lines as planned, but a new no. 12 line was also formed to provided service to the Stella Maris health care facility.
• The no. 13 line was changed as planned.
• The no. 20 line's routing was simplified, but service to Security Square Mall through the Westview community remained, with all trips operating via this route. In addition, service to Dundalk Marine Terminal was still provided.
• The no. 23 line was modified as planned, except that the Wildwood branch continued to operate.
• The no. 24 line, which originally had no modification plans, had its frequency improved to one bus every hour. Selected weekday trips now operate via Pulaski Business Park.
• The nos. 31 and 35 lines were combined as planned into the new no. 31/35 line, but selected trips, instead of operating to UMBC, were routed to Landsdowne in order to continue serving Beltway Business Park and the Maryland Blind Industries.
• The no. 33 line which originally had no routing changes planned, was extended to Eastpoint Mall in order to serve Armistead Gardens, a community previously served by the no. 35 line, and to connect to several other bus lines.
• The new no. 40 line was formed as planned.
• The no. 44 line was modified as planned.
• The no. 65 line was discontinued as planned.
• The no. 77 line was modified as planned.
• The no. 86 line was discontinued as planned.
• The no. 102 line was discontinued as planned.
• The no. 103 line was discontinued as planned.
• The no. 105 line was discontinued as planned.
• The no. 150 line continued to operate, reduced to 2 AM and 2 PM round trips.
• The no. 160 line continued to operate, reduced to 2 AM and 2 PM trips trips each (4 total) to Oliver Beach and Fox Ridge.
• The no. M-1 line was modified as planned.
• The no. M-6 line was discontinued as planned.
• The no. M-8 line was not extended to Owings Mills. However, it was rerouted to the Milford Mill Metro Subway Station.
• Portions of the new M-10 line's route to Rogers Avenue Metro Subway Station and on Old Pimlico Road were discontinued as planned, and the line's frequency was increased. However, service to Greenspring Station not only continued to operate, but was improved in frequency. In addition, peak hour trips were extended to Villa Julie College.
• The no. M-12 line was discontinued as planned.
• The no. M-17 line was modified as planned.

[edit] Criticism of Changes

On October 23, 2005, when all the new bus route changes went into effect. All new bus schedules printed by MTA bore the phrase Your New Ride, Our New Attitude. However, the new routes were widely met with disdain by riders. Some of the complaints were as follows:

• Riders who at one time caught the no. 10 line along Wise Avenue for service straight into Baltimore City, now had to catch the no. 4 line, which only provided hourly service, and did not serve various communities deviating off of Wise Avenue.
• The new no. 12 line, replacing the no. 8 line, provided unreliable service to Stella Maris. Riders who at one time had single-seat service on the no. 8 line, had to transfer, and were missing their connections.
• The modified no. 13 line did not provide service along Washington, Wolfe, or Milton Streets, requiring the elderly to walk up to six blocks.
• The no. 44 line provided very inefficient service to the Social Security Administration once provided by the no. M-6 line, causing employees of the Baltimore area's largest employer to be late. In addition, no off-peak service was provided to the Social Security campus.
• The elimination of the no. M-6 line required the elderly to walk at least several blocks to the nearest bus line.
• The no. M-10 line provided replacement service for the eliminated no. M-12 line to Villa Julie College, but not to the communities of Stevenson and Caves Roads.
• Various lines had very poor schedule adherence. These included nos. 2/10, 8, 9, 20, and 23, and the new no. 40 line. In addition, many reported the no. 40 line had very low ridership.

[edit] Revisions to Changes

In February 2006, in response to complaints about GBBI, MTA announced that several lines would be once again modified to meet certain needs. Some of the changes were as follows:

• The no. 2/10 line was renamed to the no. 10 line, and some trips were given an early terminus in Dundalk in order to improve schedule adherence.
• Selected no. 4 trips were to operate via Yellow Brick Road, a branch previously eliminated. These were a much smaller number than before.
• The no. 9 line was rerouted from Hunt Valley to International Circle.
• The no. 12 line's route was modified in response to complaints from the community it had originally passed through. Its new route drew similar complaints, and its route was modified again two weeks later to a route very similar to its old one.
• The no. 13 line returned to its old route along Washington and Wolfe Streets, with a new branch to Patterson Park and Federal Streets.
• Selected trips on the no. 20 line were given an earlier terminus in order to improve schedule adherence.
• The no. 31/35 line was renamed to the no. 35 line.
• The no. 40 line was reduced to one trip every 12 minutes during rush hour, and every 15 minutes midday in order to allow for better schedule adherence. The line was extended from the Essex Park-and-Ride lot to Middle River in order to provide a connection to the nos. 24 and 55 lines.
• Additional peak hour trips were added to the no. 44 line to Social Security.
• Printing errors in the timetables of the nos. 44 and 77 lines in which trips were printed out of chronological order were corrected.

Originally, no further changes were planned on the no. 23 line. But soon after the above changes were implemented on other lines, the businesses along downtown Baltimore's Saratoga Street complained that they had lossed most of their customers since the no. 23 line was taken off Saratoga Street and moved to the Fayette/Baltimore Street corridor.

MTA first stated that a reversal in these routing change, if it were to be done at all, would take at least several months of review. But on February 26, the no. 23 line returned to Saratoga Street between Arlington Avenue and Charles Street, and follows the Fayette/Baltimore routing east of Charles.

MTA also had not planned at first to reverse its decision to eliminate the no. M-6 line. But on March 20, 2006, the no. M-6 line returned, providing limited hourly peak hour service on weekdays only. On October 8, 2006, the no. M-6 line returned to operating in its full-time status.

[edit] Announcement of Phase II

In March 2006, MTA announce that there would be a Phase II of GBBI. In the announcement, it was declared that 23 local bus lines would undergo routing and/or scheduling changes, or else be consolidated with other lines, and these changes would take place on June 11. According to MTA literature produced at the time, these changes were all improvements that would, for the most part, have a positive impact on riders. Then Maryland transportation secretary Robert Flanagan said that only 46 riders would lose their daily bus service.

The plan was heavily criticised, not only because some riders would lose service or else find it more difficult, but because no hearings were being held to get input from riders. Flanagan said that hearings held during the previous year were sufficient, and that those who had concerns about these changes could write letters to MTA to express their views.

The plan was delayed when the 2006 General Assembly wrote language into their budget that stated that no improvements could be made on any MTA bus lines until MTA held a minimum of two hearings, besides several other stipulations.

The Phase II proposed changes were as follows:

• All trips on the no. 1 line, except for certain peak hour trips, would be extended to Sinai Hospital.
• No. 3 line trips to Sheppard Pratt would terminate at the Towson Courthouse, and the nos. 11 and 55 lines would serve the Sheppard Pratt campus. Northwood trips would be extended to Goucher & Taylor.
• The no. 5 line would no longer operate via Reservoir Hill; all

trips would serve Johns Hopkins Hospital along a single routing.

• The no. 7 line would operate between the Penn-North Metro Subway Station and Cherry Hill.
• The no. 11 line would operate from Canton Waterfront to Sheppard Pratt Hospital, with selected peak hour trips to Lake & Roland.
• The no. 16 line would be rerouted via North Avenue to Poplar Grove Street, doubled in frequency, and Violetville trips would be discontinued.
• The no. 17 line would operate only as far as Arundel Mills, minus some deviations.
• The no. 19 line would be shortened to Lexington Market; the Joppa Heights and Hickey School branches would be eliminated.
• The no. 22 line's frequency would be doubled. Lombard and Kane Street trips would be eliminated.
• The no. 27 line would be combined with the no. 64 line, to form a new line identified as the no. 64/27 line. The portion of the route between the Reisterstown Plaza Metro Subway Station and Mt. Washington would be eliminated, and the no. 51 line would be extended to serve Seton Business Park.
• The no. 29 line would provide bi-directional routing and Sunday service, and would be extended to Port Covington.
• The no. 33 line's frequency would be doubled midday and improved on weekends.
• The no. 36 line would be extended to Riverview to replace the southern end of the no. 11 line.
• The no. 51 line would be extended to the Reisterstown Plaza Metro Subway Station.
• The no. 55 line's midday frequency would be improved, and Sunday service would be added. The line's new terminus would be Sheppard Pratt Hospital.
• The no. 61 line would be discontinued; service during peak hours would be provided by the no. 11 line.
• The no. 64 line would be combined with the no. 27 line and extended north to Mt. Washington. Riviera Beach trips would terminate at Energy Parkway.
• The no. 91 line's frequency would be improved, and its route shortened to Lexington Market.
• The no. 97 Mondawmin Shuttle's route would be modified to serve Reservoir Hill.
• The no. 98 Hampden Shuttle's route would be modified to serve a portion of Roland Avenue currently served by the no. 27 line.
• The nos. M-3 and M-8 lines would be combined to provide better connections, and midday M-3 service would be improved.
• Midday and weekend service would be improved on the no. M-9 line.

[edit] Delay of Phase II

As a result of the language found in the budget passed by the Maryland General Assembly, the June 11 improvements were delayed. In late June 2006, two hearings were held per requirement. At the hearings, riders mostly voiced concerns pertaining to the negative impact felt by the October 2005 changes, as well as minor details of the planned ones.

As a part of the planned hearings that were held in June 2006, several of the routing changes that were planned for June 11 for modified in order to be less controversial. In particular:

• The no. 1 line would continue to serve Coldspring Newtown
• The no. 3 line would continue to operate to the Sheppard Pratt Hospital campus, but with a routing change in the Towson area to replace a portion of the no. 55 line that would be modified.
• The no. 5 line would continue to serve Reservoir Hill, but on selected trips only.
• The route of the no. 7 line would not be changed at all, but its frequency would be reduced to one bus an hour.
• The no. 11 line would operate to the Towson Courthouse rather than Sheppard Pratt Hospital as initially planned, providing better connections.
• Service on the no. 19 line would be provided by two different lines. The no. 19 line would follow its current main route, while a new no. 37 line would cover the Goucher & Taylor branch and also be extended to Cherry Hill to replace a portion of the no. 27 line.
• The no. 55 line would loop at the Towson Courthouse, and service to Osler Drive and GBMC would be provided by the nos. 3 and 11 lines respectively.
• The route of the no. 91 line would remain unchanged. But its frequency would be reduced, and a new no. M-5 line would provide service over the most heavily traveled part of its route.
• There would be no routing changes to the no. 97 line.

[edit] Implementation of Phase II

On October 8, 2006, part of Phase II was implemented.

• The no. 16 line's midday and Saturday frequency was doubled.
• The no. 22 line's midday and weekend frequency was doubled.
• The no. 33 line's midday frequency was doubled.
• The no. 55 line had new Sunday service added between the Towson Courthouse and Fox Ridge.
• The no. M-6 line became a full-time service with midday, evening, and weekend service.

All other plans were scheduled to be implemented on February 11, 2007. However, as Martin O'Malley replaced Robert Ehrlich as Maryland governor, and much of the administration saw changes, MTA has delayed further implementing any part of GBBI in order to give the O'Malley administration a chance to place their stamp of approval upon the changes.

[edit] References

• The Baltimore Sun (various articles)

[1] [2] [3]