[QOTW] Baltimore Link or Baltimore Disconnect?: Do You Think the M.T.A.'s New Transit Makeover Is Doing More Harm Than Good? [Written by Shae McCoy]

Image Credit: The Baltimore Sun

How are you getting around nowadays?

Frustration brews as the Maryland Transit Administration transitions into the BaltimoreLink. You might have seen the subliminal’s around the city about the BaltimoreLink and didn’t pay it much attention. It seems like every week Baltimore is coming up with some new development, word to gentrification. You may have begun to hear about this transition back when posters were being hung on the buses with information about new fare rates.  A hike in prices usually indicates an upcoming change or development.

As time progressed, we started seeing signs on the subway, light rail, and even the bus designs gradually started to change. BaltimoreLink was coming and there was nothing that we could do about it. The goal of this change is to provide a more reliable bus system, but has it?

Let’s fast forward to June 18th when the change fully took place. M.T.A. was courteous to let commuters ride free until the end of June. Commuters have not been happy about the shift as it includes more bus rides than usual. Places that normally required one bus ride to get there, now have at least 1 or 2 transfer points. The dialogue between the bus drivers and the commuters is short to none. Most drivers were confused about their own routes and therefore could not answer the questions that commuters had. This indeed has been causing confusion and a lot of people at just wishing bus routes were not tampered with.  This first week of BaltimoreLink sparked a lot of conversation across the web as commuters expressed how they either were late to work a few times, lost, or just frustrated. Have you had to ride the BaltimoreLink? Has it caused any inconvenience for you? Do you think that this change is something you can get used to if you are a commuter?