Sign up to receive County Executive Pittman's Weekly Letter to be the first to learn about big announcements, and get an inside look at issues crossing the County Executive's desk.
We broke ground Wednesday on Anne Arundel County’s first Transportation Operations Facility.
”What’s that, and why do we need it?” was my question to Office of Transportation Director Sam Snead when he put it into his capital budget request during my first term.
Before I share his answer, you need the back story.
I hired Sam, or stole him away from Baltimore County, because I was frustrated. I’d been on the job for a couple of years and felt like, despite my philosophical commitment to reducing traffic through expansion of multimodal transportation, we weren’t making real progress. Sam had worked in transportation and public transit at the federal, state, and county levels, and he came into this job knowing that Anne Arundel County was far behind similarly sized jurisdictions in its public transit offerings. He was also aware that his new boss had gotten elected by advocating for a shift from sprawl to transit-oriented development, and that without public transit, that wouldn’t be possible.
Sam was wise enough to understand that getting there wasn’t just about finding the money to pay for new buses and drivers. It was also about creating demand. He started by modernizing bus stops, with shelters, lighting, and even phone chargers. Then he engaged with community groups to find out what residents wanted. Where demand was too low for fixed routes, we added call and ride service, first in south county and then in north county.
Then he evaluated the economics of fares. Ridership was low enough that fares were only a small percentage of the system’s revenues - about what it costs to manage collection. “If we really want to boost ridership, we should make our buses free,” he said. The concept seemed radical, but the public benefits of increasing transit ridership made it a wise proposition.
Then came the marketing, starting with wrapping the buses. “Move Anne Arundel,” they all say, with the word “Free” prominently displayed. And then came Passio Go, the free app that tells you where the buses are in real time and when they will arrive at your stop.
Four years ago, our annual ridership was at 110,000. Today, it is more than quadrupled, at 468,744.
With demand up, we’ve been able to justify adding more routes, and we’re gradually building out the plan that we had set forth in Move Anne Arundel, our celebrated multi-modal transportation plan.
So, what’s a Transportation Operations Facility, and why do we need it?
It’s a place where the buses get serviced, cleaned, and parked when they’re not in use. And it’s where the drivers go to work each day, and the system’s administrative people work.
Why do we need it? It’s the heart of the modern transit system that allows our county to grow sustainably and connect people affordably.
And breaking the ground at a brand new site on Dorsey Road, just off Route 97, across from Sawmill Creek Park and Pascal Senior Center, and around the corner from Cromwell Light Rail Station, with our Department of Public Works and our Office of Transportation on a beautiful summer day - just felt right.
So, in the words of Paul Simon, “Hop on the bus, Gus. You don’t need to discuss much. Just drop off the key, Lee. And get yourself free.”
Until next week…