Transit

One of the most dire needs for our community is transportation. While Harford Transit does a great job of getting a lot of people in and around the county on planned routes, there are some gaps that represent great challenges to people in our community who could really use these services. Harford Transit is looking to solve some of those problems via a microtransit service within Edgewood and Aberdeen, a commendable task. However, below is an example of a big hole in that plan that would not get solved by the implementation of a program that does not extend beyond the borders of Edgewood and Aberdeen.

One example of the problem

Scenario:

I'm a student who gets out of school at Joppatowne High School at 2 PM; my practice runs from 2:30 PM - 5 PM.

17:00 - 18:27 (10 minutes walking, 1 hour 17 minute wait for the bus)

At 5 PM, I walk about 10 minutes from the high school to the Joppa Library to kill some time. I arrive at 5:10 PM and have to wait for the bus to come to Rumsey Towers (across the street from the library) at 6:27 PM.

18:27 - 18:36 (9 minutes)

I take the Silver Line bus 6 stops to get to the Edgewater Village shopping center, arriving at 6:36 PM

18:36 - 19:15 (39 minute wait for the bus)

Once I'm at the Edgewater Village Shopping Center, I wait 39 minutes for the Blue line bus to depart at 7:15 PM.

19:15 - 19:25 (10 minutes)

I arrive at Windsor Valley apartments at 7:25 PM, 2 hours and 25 minutes after my practice let out.

It is NOT safe to walk from Joppatowne High School to the Windsor Valley Apartments, but doing so (on roads without sidewalks at times of increased traffic) would take 1 hour and 20 minutes (80 minutes). That's over an hour less than the time it would take to make the trip via Harford Transit, and it's 46 minutes fewer than the time spent JUST WAITING for the bus to come. The total trip takes 145 minutes, and only 19 of those minutes are actually on a bus. Meanwhile, the same trip would take a car 8-12 minutes (according to Google Maps).

What can I do?

Harford Transit is a data-driven service, but it's very difficult to collect data about things that aren't in place. If you can identify a hole in the service that they have, please share it with me at adam@joppatowne.church and I will be happy to add to the problem presented above on this page.

For the scenario presented above, please consider writing an email to Harford Transit at hcts@harfordcountymd.gov. If you need help with what to say, you can copy and paste the note below:

Hello!

I'm writing to express my support for an improvement in service in the Joppatowne area. This improvement would help both the Joppatowne and Edgewood communities as it would allow for more students to participate in extracurricular activities while also keeping them safer. Right now, a student who lives in Edgewood might feel tempted to walk home on unsafe roads at dangerous times of the day because that would allow them to get home over an hour sooner than if they were to take the first buses available back to Edgewood after 5 PM.

While small localized improvements may be difficult in light schedule-syncing in the totality of the Harford Transit system, this improvement is worth the time and effort. Offering more and better options on the fixed-route service after the top of the hour would increase ridership and student safety. Beyond fixed-route services, we could look to increase rideshare options to expand services to help make better an even wider array of issues and affected people.

Thank you for your consideration!

[Name]

[Address]