Let’s talk about public transportation!
On Tuesday I had jury duty (more about that experience soon) at 8:15 AM at the Mitchell courthouse. I left my house in Reservoir Hill at 7:35 and walked down North Avenue to Penn Station. On the Saint Paul street side of Penn station I jumped on the Charm City Circulator which pulled up at about 7:57. At first it had about five people on it including two guys who looked like they were just riding it so they did not have to sit outside. There was one worker on the bus who appeared to be an observer. She talked to the driver a little bit. We were about to pull away when a few people ran toward the bus. Then more people ran toward the bus. A train had just arrived and quite a few of the people who were on the train knew about the circulator and got on it. The circulator is supposed to be for tourists, but this morning it was packed with savvy commuters. We pulled away at about 8:03. At Preston street we picked up more commuters. It was standing room only! We made it to the courthouse area at 8:14.
My commute back home was a little different. I arrived at the Fayette street stop at 4:09PM. A circulator bus approached soon after I arrived, but it had a “Not in Service” message on its front (even though it appeared filled with people) so it skipped the stop. 10 minutes later a circulator arrived. There were actually a few tourists on this bus. As we made our way up Charles street more people got on, but it was not as crowded as it was in the morning. Once again there were two guys in the back who were just trying to stay on the bus for as long as possible. Most people got off at Penn Station.
I was once told that the circulator would get white people more comfortable with riding the bus. It appears the circulator does have a broad appeal across races. I would say that 60% of the people on the bus were white, there were also quite a few Asians, and the rest (about 30%) were black. The bus was very clean and there was a TV on the ceiling that promoted tourist traps… I mean attractions.
The Charm City Circulator proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that the proposed Charles Street Trolley is a total waste and a horrible idea. The Charm City Circulator does everything the Trolley would do. The Charm City Circulator is helping bring all sorts of people and vitality to the Charles Street corridor and is serving as a viable commuting option. It gets cars off the streets and it does not clog up Charles street. I highly recommend that you try out the circulator the next time you need to travel on the Charles/Saint Paul Street corridor.
In other public transportation news, I stumbled upon this Red Line article yesterday. Please take a moment to read why we must expand our current heavy rail line instead of wasting billions on a foolish light rail idea.
Adam is the most recognizable face of the recent resurgence in Reservoir Hill. He has appeared on many national and local radio shows, in several news publications, and at numerous events discussing his innovative urban redevelopment ideas and his unique lifestyle. Adam is a successful entrepreneur, community activist, and a local political guru who ran for city council in 2007. He is the founder and director of the TechBalt.com Buy a Block Project and BaltimoreHourly.com. His fearless local political commentary has rocked the local blog scene for most of this decade and he plans to take it to the next level in the next decade here on Charm City Current.