Transportation Improvements
The need to improve and expand our transportation system – everything from maintenance and upgrading of existing highway, rail and bridge infrastructure to expansion of public transportation, particularly rail – is generally agreed upon. But even if every project moved forward immediately, the long-term horizon of most transportation projects will do little to improve public transportation options today. And it is today that we must focus on as the economic competitiveness of Central Maryland continues to suffer from the limitations of its existing transportation systems.Our ever-increasing congestion and commuting times have resulted in growing demand for better and more frequent transit service, multi-modal connections from transit stations to employment centers, and improved roadway performance along major commuter routes. Limited public funding for transportation improvements has stretched out the planning/design/construction schedules for transportation projects from several years to, in some cases, decades.
Consequently, the Transportation Alliance seeks to increase the reliability and efficiency of the transportation system we currently have in place. Increasing public transportation options – primarily light rail, MARC and bus services – to major employment hubs in the region and in the Baltimore/Washington corridor is critical to providing access to jobs as well as access to job-ready employees.
The Alliance is assessing the need, the capacity required and the possible cost of improving service and/or instituting interim measures to provide the access necessary for our economy to grow. This has lead to two initiatives:
Our goal is to build the case for expansion of public transit capacity and service via a public private partnership plan that can be delivered upon well ahead of the current schedule.
Rate Your Ride
Rate Your Ride allows public transit riders to give instant feedback via text message on the quality of their ride. The program was created by the Transportation Alliance with funding from Open Society Institute – Baltimore, the Ford Foundation, and the Clayton Fund. The program launched in September 2010 and generated more than 6,500 responses through October 2011. The successful pilot resulted in service improvements on 3 bus routes and also provided lessons about how to best use this type of data.Starting January 9th 2012 the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) began managing the Rate Your Ride program. An agreement reached between the Transportation Alliance and the MTA provides for continued oversight of the program by stakeholders including the Transportation Alliance, the Open Society Institute, and others.
To view a report by the Transportation Alliance on the results and lessons learned from piloting Rate Your Ride click here.
Visit www.RateYourRide.org to view data from Rate Your Ride participants in real time and other information about the program.
