QuickBus

QuickBus, also known as Maryland Transit Administration "Bus Route 40", is a limited stop bus rapid transit line in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. It currently runs from the parking lot of Security Square Mall near the Social Security Administration in Woodlawn, Maryland (trips before 7 AM originated at CMS due to mall policies) to Middle River in eastern Baltimore County, Maryland. Service is provided every 12 minutes during rush hour, and every 15 minutes at all other times up until around 8:00 PM. The line serves the corridors of Edmondson Avenue in West Baltimore, including the communities of Edmondson Village, Allendale, and Rosemont, and Fayette Street and Eastern Avenue in East Baltimore (city and county), serving Patterson Park, Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center and Essex.

Unlike a regular bus route, QuickBus does not stop at all stops along its route. Rather, its stops are limited to certain locations of importance, like transfer points to other bus lines, major landmarks, and other busy intersections selected by MTA. In all, there are approximately 30 stops along the route in each direction, which are all identified in printed timetables.

History

QuickBus started operating simply as Bus Route 40 on October 23, 2005 as part of a plan of then-governor Robert L. Ehrlich to provide additional rapid transit to the Baltimore area via buses. Unlike a rail line, this addition does not require any construction. The line was intended to resemble a proposed Red Line that is currently being studied for the Baltimore region.

When it started operating, Route 40 line ran only between Security Square Mall and the Essex Park-and-Ride lot on Eastern Avenue. Weekday service operated every 10 minutes. But on February 5 the following year, it was extended to Middle River and reduced to one bus every 12-15 minutes.

Criticism

Route 40 received a lot of criticism following its inauguration from riders, politicians, and the media. This criticism resulted in some changes being made to the route, schedule, and other details.

The service, which was projected to have a daily ridership level of 27,000, fell far short of that goal. This resulted in its weekday frequency being reduced.

Low ridership and unrealistic time allocation initially being built into the schedule has resulted in poor on-time performance and buses "clumping together". As one bus fell behind schedule while busy picking up passengers, the one behind it got ahead after stops had been cleared of waiting passengers, and ultimately caught up to the earlier bus. This left larger gaps between buses.

Financial resources needed in order to operate this service were obtained by cutting back on the amount of local bus service along common streets of operation, mostly on Route 23, which had its level of service cut by nearly 50% when Route 40 was introduced. This brought the number of local buses on these busy streets below the demand.

The service's original route had an eastern terminus at Essex Park-and-Ride lot, which was more than a mile short of the transfer point for some other lines, including Routes 24 and 55. An extension in February 2006 to Middle River allowed riders to transfer directly to those routes.

On the west side of the route, there is no designated Park-and-Ride lot allowing motorists to park their vehicles and catch the bus. Security Square Mall has not allocated any spaces for riders of Route 40, and an existing park-and-ride lot at the end of I-70 is not within a practical or pedestrian friendly walk of a bus stop.

While rapid transit lines are generally modeled for commuter purposes, QuickBus is marketed only to those who do not own vehicles who depend on a neighborhood bus stop.

At several stops along the route, a new experimental system was installed late in 2005. Electronic signs at these stops, tied into a GPS system, indicate the expected time of arrival for the next bus, so riders will not have to rely on a less reliable printed schedule. In the near future, MTA plans to implement this system at many more bus stops along other routes.

This system has been highly criticized. It is expensive, and money spent on it has not been spent on improving bus service around the Baltimore area. Even when fully in place, these signs will only be found at a small percentage of bus stops, and will not be useful to everyone.

Renaming and Restructuring

On December 21, 2006, Bus Route 40 was rebranded as "QuickBus" in order to better promote the service [ [http://www.gbc.org/bta/Pages/updates_013007.html BTA Updates - January 30, 2007 ] ] . Special pylons were added at selected stops to mark the locations.

On June 10, 2007, the eastern layover was moved to a safer location at Old Eastern and Vincent Avenues.

ee also

Related MTA Bus Lines: 4 10 15 20 23 24 33 35 55

External links

* [http://www.mtamaryland.com/services/bus/routes/bus/40schedule.pdf Route 40 schedule QuickBus schedule]

References