Maryland Transit Times

Purple Line Groundbreaking

MDOT MTA Transit Times host Joanna Campbell spoke with MDOT MTA Transportation Planner Jaime McKay about back to school with BaltimoreLink.

MDOT MTA Transit Times host Joanna Campbell spoke with MDOT MTA Chief Engineer Vernon Hartsock about the scheduled replacement of the Metro SubwayLink railcars and signaling system. This welcome enhancement to the way Baltimore gets around is the result of a combined federal and state grant of $400.5 million dedicated to the mission of MDOT MTA to provide safe, efficient, reliable transit with world-class customer service. #mdotnews

Maryland Transit Times host Joanna Campbell takes us behind the scenes for the taping of Commuter Connections with Sandy Arnette and MDOT MTA Light Rail Superintendent of Transportation Dona Rawlings to talk about getting to the Maryland State Fair on Light RailLink. Starting on Thursday, August 24th until Monday, September 4th the Maryland State Fair will be open and MDOT MTA will provide service to the fair.

MDOT MTA Police held their promotion ceremony at Police Headquarters to award members of the force their new ranks. Police Chief John Gavrilis addressed the next generation of leadership at the ceremony and entrusted them to uphold the mission of MDOT MTA. They were also charged to keep the reputation of the MDOT MTA Police. For the last three years MDOT MTA has been the safest transit agency out of the top 12 transit agencies in the nation.

Maryland Transit Times host Joanna Campbell sits down with Scott Schell, MDOT MTA's Manager of Service Contract Compliance to discuss the partial shutdown of Light RailLink between North Ave and Camden Yards from July 25 to August 11, 2017. A "bus bridge" along the entire length of the closed sections, including shuttle service from Penn Station to North Ave Light Rail Station, and an express connection between North Ave and Camden Yards, will be provided to help minimize the inconvenience during these necessary repairs. For more information and stop details, visit https://mta.maryland.gov/content/mdot-mta-partially-shut-down-light-raillink-july-25-august-11-necessary-repairs. #MDOTNews

Maryland Transit Times host Joanna Campbell sits down with Megan Bosse from the Baltimore Office of Promotion & the Arts to talk about Artscape this weekend. This year’s theme is “Camp Artscape: Adventure Awaits” – both camp and Artscape are true staples of the summer season. The festival will be held from 11am to 9pm on Friday and Saturday, July 21 and 22, and from 11am to 8pm on Sunday, July 23 in Baltimore’s Arts & Entertainment District neighborhoods. Artscape will feature hundreds of exhibits by fine artists, fashion designers, craftspeople, visual artists, sculptors and photographers.

MDOT MTA Joanna Campbell and Sandy Arnette met with Acting Administrator Kevin Quinn to talk about the Launch of BaltimoreLink on June 18. Over night, 5000 bus stop signs were unveiled, every bus route in the system changed and over 17,000 calls were handled by the call center. MDOT MTA also had 300 Transit Ambassadors throughout the city assisting riders with the new system on the day of the launch. We continue to take comments from the public and bus operators for future adjustments to the system. For details about the new bus routes, visit BaltimoreLink.com.

Megan Bosse from the Baltimore Office of Promotion & the Arts chats with Maryland Transit Times host Joanna Campbell about the 4th of July celebration taking place at the Inner Harbor on Tuesday, July 4th. The celebration starts at 7 p.m. with a live music performance from the Commodores Navy jazz ensemble at the Inner Harbor Amphitheater. The fireworks show starts at 9:30 p.m. and lasts for 17 minutes. MTA encourages everyone to take CityLink, LocalLink, Light RailLink, and Metro SubwayLink to the Inner Harbor for the celebration.

Maryland Transit Times host Joanna Campbell met with bus riders at several transit centers to get first-hand reaction to the new BaltimoreLink system. There were lots of positive responses as well as a few concerns from riders, which MDOT MTA is taking into account as we continue to make the entire transit network faster, more more reliable and more efficient. MDOT MTA is also offering free fares to BaltimoreLink riders through June 30 to make it easier to learn the new system. For details about the new #BaltimoreLink routes and schedules, visit BaltimoreLink.com #MDOTNews

On Wednesday, June 14 Governor Larry Hogan spoke at the opening of the West Baltimore MARC Station Transit Hub. The transit hub at the West Baltimore MARC Station is part of BaltimoreLink's capital improvement program and is a key transit facility to help move riders in and around the city. MDOT Secretary Pete Rahn, Baltimore City Mayor Catherine Pugh, Baltimore City Council President Barry "Jack" Young and MDOT MTA Acting Administrator Kevin Quinn joined the Governor to celebrate this festive occasion and spoke at the launch.

Maryland Transit Times host Joanna Campbell sat down with Michael Helta at the Office of Planning to discuss the new BaltimoreLink bus stop signs that will be unveiled on Sunday, June 18th. To hear the full interview click on the SoundCloud link below or on iTunes.

Maryland Transit Times host Joanna Campbell met with Acting Chief Transportation Officer Dave Johnson to discuss the new changes coming to the West Baltimore MARC Station. In the past several years the station has added parking lots, new lighting, and upgraded its platform. Now with the launch of BaltimoreLink, the station has also added a bus loop to connect bus riders to the MARC Train without having to cross over Route 40. The bus loop will also serve as a hub to connect riders going from one end of the city to the other. To learn more about BaltimoreLink, visit BaltimoreLink.com

Maryland Transit Time host Joanna Campbell met with BaltimoreLink Coordinator Laura Getty to talk about educating the public on the new routes when BaltimoreLink launches on June 18. This outreach program seeks to educate riders by engaging with senior centers, schools, places of worship, community associations, employers, elected officials and key stakeholders to inform them that changes are coming soon. The goal of the BaltimoreLink education plan is to ensure riders know their route will change on June 18th. To learn about your route, visit www.BaltimoreLink.com #WeAreYourMTA #MDOTNews

Maryland Transit Times host Joanna Campbell met with MDOT MTA Manager of Project Development Mike Helta to discuss the new Transit Signal Priority (TSP) devices that will be activated on several of the new CityLink routes when BaltimoreLink launches on June 18. You can hear the full interview on iTunes or by clicking on the SoundCloud link below.

Maryland Transit Times: MDOT MTA Police K9 Unit by MTA Maryland

MDOT MTA is proud to host the 2017 International Rail Rodeo and American Public Transportation Association (APTA) Rail Conference. Maryland Transit Times host Joanna Campbell met with Judy Bellamy from Customer Relations to talk about the competition taking place June 8-11, which will feature transit professionals representing leading transit agencies from around the nation and several international agencies as well.

Maryland Transit Times host Joanna Campbell met with MDOT MTA Administrator Paul Comfort to discuss the June 18th launch of BaltimoreLink. During the interview the Administrator talked about MTA Ambassadors, who will help riders get familiar with the new bus system; how the new CityLink buses will connect riders to Light Rail, Metro Subway and MARC Train with greater ease; and help reduce congestion by developing bus only lanes, adding transit signal priority throughout the city.

MDOT MTA Rider Appreciation Rally at Camden Yards was held on Monday, May 8th in front of the Camden Yards Light Rail Station. Maryland Transit Times host Joanna Campbell interviewed Baltimore Orioles announcer Ryan Wagner to talk about the history of Camden Yards Station and the Orioles. Joanna also talked with several fans about the convenience of taking Light Rail to the game. Last, but not least she has a great time interviewing the Oriole Bird.

Maryland Transit Times host Joanna Campbell met with Latin Opinion Publisher Erick Oribio to talk about MTA's outreach to the Spanish speaking community in the Baltimore area. Through the Administrator's monthly column in Latin Opinion's newspaper, MTA informs riders in the Latino community of the launch of BaltimoreLink on June 18th.