MTA Maryland Route 3

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Route 3 is a bus route operated by the Maryland Transit Administration in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, and its suburbs. It currently runs from the Inner Harbor to Cromwell Bridge Road Park and Ride (at exit 29 off the Baltimore Beltway), with selected trips to Sheppard Pratt Hospital and various short turns. It is . The bus route is the successor to the 17 St. Paul Street streetcar line and the Route T bus that ran from 1940 to 1947.

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[edit] History

The Route 17 streetcar line, which operated on St. Paul Street and North Charles Street until 1947, and the Route T bus, which operated along 33rd Street and Loch Raven Boulevard, became Route 3 when it was replaced by buses between Baynesville and downtown.

In 1959, the line was combined with the Halethorpe Streetcar Line and extended to Halethorpe along the Wilkens Avenue corridor, where it served St. Agnes Hospital and UMBC. It followed this route until 1987, when the line was split. After that, service along the Wilkens Avenue corridor was provided by the new Route 31. Service along the same route is currently provided by Route 35.

In 1990, a new branch was added to Route 3 that operated to Towson and Sheppard Pratt primarily along Joppa Road. This new service replaced a branch of Route 8 to Eudowood.

[edit] Greater Baltimore Bus Initiative

In 2005, as part of the Greater Baltimore Bus Initiative, a comprehensive overhaul plan for the region's transit system, MTA proposed to eliminate the Sheppard Pratt branch on the route, and eliminate all short turns, except for the Goucher & Taylor loop during peak hours.

After a public outcry, MTA put these plans on hold, and revised them in 2006. The new proposal would not only retain the Sheppard Pratt branch, but would modify its route to serve Osler Drive and provide weekend service in this area. This plan was implemented on February 17, 2008.

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