County will feel $25M MTA cuts

The Maryland Transportation Authority has proposed cutting some commuter bus lines and MARC train service, including a bus that runs from Annapolis to New Carrollton Metrorail Station.

Other proposed reductions in Anne Arundel include:

Eliminating bus service on the line from Laurel to Baltimore

Cutting the last two evening round-trip MARC trains on the Penn Line, which runs from west Baltimore to BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport

Cutting the mid-day bus shuttle between Odenton and Laurel.

The changes are set to take effect on Jan. 12, but the MTA will be holding public hearings and taking public comments until Dec. 26. A public hearing will be held at the Stanton Center gymnasium at 92 W. Washington St. in Annapolis on Nov. 20 from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m., and 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Commuter bus and MARC train holiday service also would be cut under the proposal.

The moves will save the state about $25 million, as gasoline taxes, vehicle registration fees and other revenue sources continue to come in below expectations, said Jawauna Greene, an MTA spokesman.

"The reality is, something has to be cut," she said. "Something has to be reduced."

County Councilman Ron Dillon, Jr., R-Pasadena, who works for the bus company that runs the Annapolis-New Carrollton line, said about 200 people a day use the route. About 42,000 riders used the bus in 2007.

"These buses, in general, are pretty full," Mr. Dillon said.

Besides easing gridlock on the roads, the route saved about 1 million vehicle miles last year, he said, and took out the same amount of carbon dioxide that would be eliminated by 69,000 trees.

But Ms. Greene said ridership on that bus can dip down to just 125 people a day, and its use pales in comparison to lines such as the bus that travels from Kent Island through Annapolis to Washington, D.C., which has almost 700.

"From a cost-savings standpoint, you can't justify continuing to run that," she said.

Public transportation already has been hit by the state's continuing financial woes, but this proposal marks the first time during the current economic turmoil the state is considering cuts to existing services.

Investing in mass transit is critical to keeping local economies thriving and connecting people with job opportunities, said Otis Rolley, the president and CEO of the Central Maryland Transportation Alliance.

"To make these cuts at a point where you are showing critical success ... is illogical," he said. "We are very frustrated ... You don't punish good behavior."

Business was brisk overall this morning at the park and ride off Harry S Truman Parkway, where commuters lined up, or ran to, several buses heading to Washington, D.C.

Almost no one boarded the 7:22 a.m. or 8:07 a.m. bus for New Carrollton from that stop, but commuters said every person added to another bus can fill it up and take away precious minutes if you have to wait for the next one.

And cutting a bus line while gas prices are still high sends the wrong message, said Mark Weber, a Crownsville resident who commutes to Washington.

"I can't believe they would make a move like this when they are trying to encourage people to use public transportation," he said.