Introduction
Maryland Transit Administration or MTA Maryland for short, is a state-operated transportation administration in Maryland. This administration is part of the Maryland Department of Transportation, or MDOT, and is the primary operator of transit in Baltimore, MD, and Baltimore County. MTA Maryland is the largest transportation agency in Maryland, and 11th largest in the United States.
Routes and Service
MTA Maryland operates four modes of transit within its boundaries, including commuter rail service under the “Maryland Area Regional Commuter” brand, aka MARC, and bus, subway, and light rail service under the Baltimore Link brand. Most of MTA’s service operates within the city limits of Baltimore City, but some local buses, as well as the Light Rail Link, operate out to Glen Burne, BWI Airport, and Anne Arundel County. MARC Trains and commuter buses also operate as far as Washington DC.
Bus Operations
Since 2017, MTA Maryland adapted a new route system known as “Baltimore Link” for the local and rapid routes. The routes can be summarized as the following:
- Local Link. These are neighborhood-centric local bus routes and can be identified as numbers from 21-95. The higher numbers (40-95) operate to the outskirts of the city, whereas the lower numbers (21-39) are crosstown routes.
- Crosstown LocalLink Routes: 21, 22, 26, 28, 29, 30, 31, 33, 34, 36, 37, 38
- Neighborhood LocalLink Routes: 51, 52, 53, 54, 56, 59, 62, 63, 65, 67, 69, 70, 71, 73, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 85, 87, 89, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95
- CityLink. These are the more frequent bus routes that operate on central corridors at high frequencies, usually passing through the downtown area. They can be identified as colors aka CityLink Purple PL.
- CityLink Colors and Symbols: Blue BL, Brown BR, Gold GD, Green GR, Lime LM, Navy NV, Orange OR, Pink PK, Purple PR, Silver SV, Red RD, and Yellow YW
- Express Link – These routes are express versions of the Local Link lines, that terminate within Baltimore City. They can be identified by numbers in the 100 series, and usually, run in peak directions during the rush hours only.
- Express Link Routes: 103, 104, 105, 115, 120, 150, 154, 160, 164
- Commuter Express – As the name says, these are commuter express routes that, similar to express link, usually operate in Baltimore City. However, these routes go across the entire state of Maryland, and even to Washington DC. These buses are looked over and managed by MTA Maryland, but operated by other Contractors.
- Inter-county-Connector (ICC) – These routes on MD State Route 200
- 201, 203, operated by DILLON’S BUS SERVICE INC.
- 204 operated by ATLANTIC COAST CHARTERS
- Service to Anne-Arndell and Queens Arndell County via US Route 50
- 210, 215 operated by ACADEMY EXPRESS, LLC
- 220, 230, 240, 250, 260 Operated by DILLON’S BUS SERVICE INC.
- Service to Howard County
- 310, 320, 410, 411, 420 operated by ACADEMY EXPRESS, LLC
- 315, 325 operated by MARTZ/GOLD LINE
- 335, 345, operated by DILLON’S BUS SERVICE INC.
- Service to Fredrick and Montgomery Counties
- 505, 515 operated by ATLANTIC COAST CHARTERS
- Service to Charles and Prince George’s Counties to/from Washington DC
- 610, 620, 630, 650 operated by MARTZ/GOLD LINE
- 640 operated by ACADEMY EXPRESS, LLC
- Service to St Mary’s and Prince George’s Counties to/from Washington DC via MD State Route 5
- 705 operated by ACADEMY EXPRESS, LLC
- 715, 725, 735 operated by Keller Transportation, Inc.
- Service to Calvert County
- 810 operated by MARTZ/GOLD LINE
- 820 operated by ACADEMY EXPRESS, LLC
- 830, 840, 850 operated by Keller Transportation, Inc
- Inter-county-Connector (ICC) – These routes on MD State Route 200
Bus Fleet
Maryland MTA’s fleet consists of about 700 buses, most of which are New Flyer Xcelsior Models built between 2011 and 2019 (as this was the only type of bus MTA had received in this time frame)
Metro Subway and Light Rail
Since 2017, the Baltimore Subway became known as the Metro SubwayLink, and the Baltimore Light Rail became known as the Light RailLink. Both are rail systems that operate between downtown Baltimore and the suburbs. The Light Rail Link also serves the BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport, with service to the Baltimore Penn Station. The Metro SubwayLink serves Johns Hopkins Hospital and Owings Mills.
Routes:
- Light RailLinkLink (map) – These all share space between MT Royal and Camden Yards Station. Some Trains terminate at North Avenue Station, as this is the main train yard for the Light Rail Link. Hunt Valley Service often alternates terminating at Fairgrounds Station during the rush hours. Main Line trips include:
- Light RailLink Hunt Valley => Cromwell Station (Glen Burne)
- Light RailLink Hunt Valley => BWI Airport
- Light RailLink Camden Yards => Penn Station
- Metro SubwayLink (map) – Unlike the Light RailLink, this system is only one line with no branches. All trips operate between Owings Mills and John Hopkins Hospital. Some trips during rush hours operate from Rogers Avenue Station, as this is the main train yard for the Metro SubwayLink
Metro Subway and Light Rail Fleet
This is a combination between the Light Rail and Metro Subway fleet. The lines these are used for are noted under the make/model.
| Year, Make/Model | Image | Fleet Numbers | Notes |
| 1983 Budd Universal Transit Vehicle Metro SubwayLink |  | 100-171 | |
| 1986 Budd Universal Transit Vehicle Metro SubwayLink |  | 172-199 | |
| 1991-1993 ABB Light Rail Vehicle Light RailLink |  | 5001-5035 | Currently being rehabbed by Alstom |
| 1996 ABB Light Rail Vehicle Light RailLink |  | 5036-5053 | Currently being rehabbed by Alstom |
| Hitachi (rail vehicles TBD) Metro SubwayLink | To Be Determined | – On delivery, piggybacked off of Miami-Dade’s order from 2017 – delivery delayed due to conflicts within Hitachi – Will replace older Metro SubwayLink Budd Cars |