MTA Maryland Route 11

Route 11 is a bus route operated by the Maryland Transit Administration in Baltimore, Maryland, United States and its suburbs. It currently runs from the center of Towson to Canton, serving the corridors of Charles Street and Fleet Street. It started operating along this route on February 17, 2008, following modification from its previous route that had been in place for decades, with numerous variations of service along the Charles Street corridor, and the route operating southwest from downtown Baltimore to Riverview via Washington Boulevard. The changes that went into effect in 2008 had originally been proposed nearly a decade earlier, but had especially been pushed since 2005. These mostly involved replacing the southern portion of the route with an extension on Route 36.

The bus route is the successor to the 11 Bedford Square and 27 Washington Boulevard streetcar lines.

History

In 1959, when the line was converted to a bus operation, it was combined with a pair of routes then identified as Routes 27 and 52 that ran along Washington Boulevard to provide crosstown service.

Over the years, Route 11 has been modified and expanded to serve many areas. These have included:
*Historic Lutherville
*Towson
*Towson University
*Goucher College
*Greater Baltimore Medical Center
*Rodgers Forge
*Ruxton

The line has also seen a lot of cuts in service within Baltimore County, where ridership demand is low. During the 1990s, the following changes were made along the line:
*In 1992, trips to the Lutherville Light Rail Stop were rerouted to Towson via Kenilworth Drive, and trips to Ruxton via Bellona Avenue were reduced. Osler Drive trips were extended to Towson.
*In 1996, trips via Osler Drive were discontinued.
*In 1997, all trips to Towson via Kenilworth were extended to Goucher College. All Saturday service was extended via this route, while intervals between trips were reduced to one hour.
*In 2003, trips to Goucher College were rerouted via Towsontown Boulevard as a result of complaints from residents of Kenilworth Drive [ [http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?pnpid=659&show=archivedetails&ArchiveID=969674&om=1 Towson Times ] ] . Other trips were routed to Charles Street and the Beltway to serve this area.

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 that Route 11 would be modified. The northern portion of the route would continue to operate, but with a routing change in the Towson area in which all trips follows the identical route through Rodgers Forge, and terminate at Greater Baltimore Medical Center. After reaching downtown, buses would operate to Canton rather than Riverview, and service on the current southern end would be replaced by extending Route 36 [ [http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?pnpid=659&show=archivedetails&ArchiveID=1110138&om=1 Towson Times ] ] .

This plan was delayed, and in 2006, a revised version was announced in which the northern end would be at the Towson Courthouse rather than GBMC, and a new peak hour branch would be formed to Roland Park to replace Route 61, which was proposed for elimination.

This plan was delayed several times due to various issues. It was finally implemented on February 17, 2008, but Route 61 continues to operate peak hour service to Roland Park.

ee also

*MTA Maryland bus routes
*MTA Maryland former bus routes
*History of MTA Maryland

External links

* [http://www.mtamaryland.com/services/bus/routes/bus/11%20GBMC%2010-05.pdf Route 11 (north part) schedule]
* [http://www.mtamaryland.com/services/bus/schedule/11_river_2_04.pdf Route 11 (south part) schedule]

References