An MTA bus on Baltimore Street outside University of Maryland Medical Center in downtown Baltimore. File. (Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun)
Don’t invest in a light-rail boondoggle — buses do the job | GUEST COMMENTARY
Originally published in the Baltimore Sun
Gov. Wes Moore’s push to build the Red Line light-rail project in Baltimore flies in the face of Maryland’s history with rail transit, a history that includes huge cost overruns, ridership shortfalls and steadily deteriorating transit ridership.
According to the Federal Transit Administration, Baltimore buses carried 122 million trips in 1982, before the state built any rail lines. In 2019 — after building 30 miles of light rail and 15 miles of subway — buses, light rail and subways together carried just 82 million riders.
Building the Red Line will only hurt transit even more. The Red Line is 110% about political patronage and -10% percent about transportation.
That’s because light rail is inferior to buses in every respect. A properly designed bus system can move more people at higher speeds in greater comfort than light rail and do so for far less money.
Full article here