MDOT MTA and Baltimore City Public Schools Students Make First Weeks Back-to-School a Success on BaltimoreLink

Thanks to Baltimore City Public Schools (BCPS) students and parents who planned ahead and the hard work and dedication of Maryland Department of Transportation Maryland Transit Administration employees, back-to-school was a huge success for thousands of area students this year on the new BaltimoreLink system.  

BaltimoreLink, which launched June 18, is Governor Larry Hogan’s transformative plan that redesigned the entire local and express bus systems with 12 new high-frequency, color-coded bus routes that improve connections to jobs and other transit modes while improving service quality and reliability. MDOT MTA staff spearheaded numerous community outreach events to inform and educate the public about changes to the bus network.

“As one of 150 transit ambassadors staged at major bus stops and transfer hubs throughout the city on the first two days of school — September 5 and September 6 — I saw firsthand how well-prepared students were on riding the new BaltimoreLink system to get to and from school,” said MDOT MTA Administrator Kevin Quinn, who assisted students at a busy bus stop at St. Paul and Fayette streets. “The fact that things ran so smoothly is a testament to our employees who participated in hundreds of events around the city over the past few months to spread the word of the route changes, and BCPS students, parents and school officials taking our advice to plan ahead.

“By the first day of school, most students already had their bus routes mapped on their smartphones,” Quinn added. “Students knew where they had to go and how to get there. My team and I were very impressed.”

Many students learned their routes to and from school by visiting the Baltimore Link and MTA websites and by using the Google Maps and Transit apps. MDOT MTA also sent postcards to the home of every BCPS student and distributed a Student Rider Guide that outlined each bus route that would get students to their respective schools.

Outside of some complaints of overcrowding on more heavily traveled bus lines, few cases of transit-related problems have been reported since the start of the new school year.

About 27,000 BCPS students rely on MDOT MTA transit services daily. To help transport these students, MDOT MTA provides supplemental service (additional trips from the standard bus routes) during the school year.