WHY does maryland public transit suck?? how can mta maryland or service improve?? (Baltimore: DMV, living in)

[papichulo2]

Originally Posted by ameme234

Lol.

its got so boring on here ppl replying to old posts lol

[P47P47]

Originally Posted by Tom Lennox 70

Crime has often followed mass transit in the Baltimore region.

Crime has followed every form of transportation ever invented, every place it has gone. Any time transportation is made easier and more convenient for honest people, it is also made easier and more convenient for criminals.

[Digger 68]

Originally Posted by P47P47

Crime has followed every form of transportation ever invented, every place it has gone. Any time transportation is made easier and more convenient for honest people, it is also made easier and more convenient for criminals.

The amount of Criminal element is small. But I did not see helicopters with spotlights before the light rail came up to northern Baltimore county.
I had a police helicopter follow me from Timonium road up to the fairgrounds light rail stop one night 7 years ago while I was riding my bike. It had it's spotlight on me and I was like WTF. I ride my bike everywhere, and am an enthusiast. It was winter, and cold. A police car pulled me over, a policeman got out, approached me, and told me to have a nice night. And I am white folks. What would have happened if I was black? Crazy. And I was riding a vintage Bianchi Road Bike. Do crooks ride Bianchi's?
I am getting to the point where I want to leave this area, but jobs become an issue.

A side note, motorists are mostly okay, but there are so many that drive to fast. Waaay to fast. Makes it unsafe to bike. I mostly ride on the sidewalk.

The way this area has been slapped together over the last 50 years is shameful!

[slowlane3]

Originally Posted by Tallie225

Montgomery county has great public transportation. PG county does not.

Northern PG County has two separate MARC lines, as well as 3 separate metrorail lines (green, blue, orange) and "THE BUS" to supplement metrobus lines. PG County however, has a lack of TOD - "transit oriented development" - apartments and office buildings built to take advantage of adjacent train station, like are found by most of the metrorail stations in Arlington and Alexandria, VA. Most of PG County's metrorail stations are just surrounded by massive commuter parking lots. PG County's suburbs outside the beltway are pretty much sprawling, low-density bedroom communities, without the critical mass that would justify frequent busses. Compare that with Rockville and Gaithersburg in Montg County, which have a large college, county government offices, US Public Health Service, high-tech research firm job centers, shopping malls, etc.

Some of the few exceptions include the US PHS office building by the College Park station, USDA building by the Prince George Plaza station, Census Bureau by the Suitland station, and some new apartments and a proposed Federal office building by Branch Avenue station.

[papichulo2]

Originally Posted by slowlane3

Northern PG County has two separate MARC lines, as well as 3 separate metrorail lines (green, blue, orange) and "THE BUS" to supplement metrobus lines. PG County however, has a lack of TOD - "transit oriented development" - apartments and office buildings built to take advantage of adjacent train station, like are found by most of the metrorail stations in Arlington and Alexandria, VA. Most of PG County's metrorail stations are just surrounded by massive commuter parking lots. PG County's suburbs outside the beltway are pretty much sprawling, low-density bedroom communities, without the critical mass that would justify frequent busses. Compare that with Rockville and Gaithersburg in Montg County, which have a large college, county government offices, US Public Health Service, high-tech research firm job centers, shopping malls, etc.

Some of the few exceptions include the US PHS office building by the College Park station, USDA building by the Prince George Plaza station, Census Bureau by the Suitland station, and some new apartments and a proposed Federal office building by Branch Avenue station.

The bus not that bad.. its just not as much revenue like rideon has. The worse are the rta buses in columbia

[Infinite_heights77]

Easy answer, because the state of Maryland itself sucks!

[Digger 68]

Originally Posted by Infinite_heights77

Easy answer, because the state of Maryland itself sucks!

And you are an expert on sucking.

[datum9]

Looking at the metro lines, I have lived in MD for over a decade and could never actually use them. I lived in places like Clarksburg and Germantown adn Rockville. I realize Clarksburg area is mostly horse country but in Rockville I was sufficiently far from the metro station that taking it was not practical.

First, you have to wait for the bus - and I didn't live anywhere near the bus stop. Then take it to the metro station. Then take the metro, which isn't cheap to begin with. It's easier to drive to the metro station versus standing outside in freezing weather at a bus stop, or in summer heat. When all said and done, it's considerably easier to just take the personal vehicle to work without having to worry about the giant headache of metro and bus which are both inconvenient and expensive.

Maryland needs considerably more metro lines. DC for that matter also but especially MD and NoVA. There is a metro but it's not practical and downright useless if you commute from some places like Gaithersburg to DC. The metro is not useful unless you live 5 minutes from it and when you do, the property is that much more expensive.

Because everyone else finds themselves in the same boat, you have traffic issues of stupendous proportions.

[dkf747]

Originally Posted by datum9

Looking at the metro lines, I have lived in MD for over a decade and could never actually use them. I lived in places like Clarksburg and Germantown adn Rockville. I realize Clarksburg area is mostly horse country but in Rockville I was sufficiently far from the metro station that taking it was not practical.

First, you have to wait for the bus - and I didn't live anywhere near the bus stop. Then take it to the metro station. Then take the metro, which isn't cheap to begin with. It's easier to drive to the metro station versus standing outside in freezing weather at a bus stop, or in summer heat. When all said and done, it's considerably easier to just take the personal vehicle to work without having to worry about the giant headache of metro and bus which are both inconvenient and expensive.

Maryland needs considerably more metro lines. DC for that matter also but especially MD and NoVA. There is a metro but it's not practical and downright useless if you commute from some places like Gaithersburg to DC. The metro is not useful unless you live 5 minutes from it and when you do, the property is that much more expensive.

Because everyone else finds themselves in the same boat, you have traffic issues of stupendous proportions.

That's not totally true. I lived in Gaithersburg for 7 years and often commuted by bus and Metro. The bus ran down my street, but the quicker bus was a 10 minute walk a few blocks over. It worked out very well. Sometimes it was cold, but I have seen worse. Sometimes it was hot, but I put up with that. Anyway, my commute took the same amount of time if I took the bus and Metro. It rarely varied. When I drove, it could take anywhere from 40 minutes to 2.5 hours. Every day was different. I found Metro to be consistent and useful. I never thought bus and Metro were very expensive. I often got the bus ride for free due to a transfer from/to Metro. I miss the option because where I now live, there are no buses, and Metro won't open until 2020.

[datum9]

What exactly is not true?

I am stating my experience. I lived sufficiently far enough from the metro station and not that close to the bus where taking that mode of transportation was a major difficulty. Both time consuming and expensive.
Have you checked the metro prices lately? They are expensive. Both ways, *more* expensive than taking your personal car. That in conjunction with the bus ticket and the inconvenience of waiting at a bus stop in all kinds of weather.
Most people look at this and just give up and commute in their private vehicles and prefer to deal with traffic and parking issues versus the inconvenience of buses, prices of metro.

the public transit system is malfunctioning for the vast majority of people, highways that are a parking lot is proof positive.

You have to live right next to the metro to take advantage of it, otherwise it's not viable and for all practical purposes, does not exist.

In contrast, when I lived in Europe, in major European cities, there are metro stations everywhere, all within walking distance. Paris for example is much more convenient. It's built around public transit and you can actually survive without a vehicle. Not in DC suburbs. And in Europe, taking the bus or the metro does not have that negative connotation that it does here.

DC has a metro system but it's not useful. But we can say "We have a metro", on paper. It's only useful to those who live in DC and don't need to go that far. You are out of luck in Olney or Gaithersburg (which is really huge) etc. You are out of luck in Reston also. Most people in those cities do *not* live "10 minute walk a few blocks over". You have to commute to the metro stop and then pay parking fees there, might as well just take it all the way to your destination.

The metro needs way more lines that extend way further. Way more stops. It's just completely useless right now. I've taken it twice in the last 10 years.