Route 20 (Baltimore)
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Route 20 is a bus route in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. It currently runs from Security Square Mall east through downtown Baltimore to Dundalk, and is operated by the Maryland Transit Administration. The main roads along which it operates include Baltimore Street and Fayette Street. The bus route is the successor to the Highlandtown, Point Breeze, and West Baltimore Street streetcar lines; the latter was the third streetcar line in Baltimore.
[edit] History
Route 20 started operating in 1940 between Point Breeze and downtown; this had been a branch of Route 10. In 1948, it was replaced with buses and extended west over the former streetcar Route 15, which was cut back to Belair Road only.
The line saw later expansions while communities developed in Edmondson Village, Westview, and Woodlawn, and was eventually extended to Rolling Road and Security Boulevard. The layover point was then moved across the street to Security Square Mall.
In October 2005, as part of the Greater Baltimore Bus Initiative, a comprehensive overhaul plan, Route 20 underwent the following changes:
- All trips on the west side, including all short turns at Hilton Street and Franklin Street, were extended to Security Square Mall. The Social Security branch was discontinued.
- All trips on the east side were extended to CCBC Dundalk, with the exception of selected weekday trips to Dundalk Marine Terminal. All other branches and short turns were eliminated, but in February of the following year, the short turns at Dundalk and Center Place were reintroduced in order to improve schedule adherence.
- Routing in East Baltimore shifted two blocks north from Baltimore Street to Fayette Street. As this new route overlapped with the new Route 40 and Route 23 that had long operated on the same street, it allowed the schedules of the lines to be coordinated and evenly spaced on one of the peak portions of the route where ridership demand is high while keeping operating costs down.
