Fellow Baltimorean here. Came by your video by surfing. Great job doing research. My brother and I suspected why the system the way it is. THANK YOU!!!!!
I've never been to Baltimore, but I love your passion and local knowledge. Advocates like you are desperately needed in cities all across North America.
Absolutely fantastic video. When planning my move back to the East Coast, having access to an extensive rapid transit system was one of my priorities, so my cities of choice were DC, NYC, and Boston. I ended up deciding on DC but after watching this video, it is unfortunate to realize what could have been if Baltimore succeeded in building out their metro lines as originally planned. Maryland's most populated city deserves more than _just_ one metro line. It would do a great service to the city if the state could better prioritize getting these lines finally built out.
Great video! As one who grew up in Randallstown and used the Metro sparingly, it’s aggravating the service is not more well connected to the Baltimore Metro region like its original proposal even after all these years. It would have let me appreciate the city and its suburbs more than being chauffeured around in a car constantly. Having siblings go to school in Boston and Philly and discuss their transit systems, it’s sad how comparatively Baltimore lags behind in the northeast corridor. MD needs to get its act together to improve the public transit system for the benefit of all.
Great video on the Maryland Department of Transportation, Maryland Transit Administration, Balitmore Metro Subway Link, it's got potential, especially if they ever extend it up to Towson to replace the red bus line which is the busiest that MTA runs AFAIK.
@@sammymarrco47 thanks! And, yea, there’s currently suuuuuper preliminary studies about a North-South transit line from Towson to Port Covington that’s been in the works for a while, and while metro is an option, they very likely will choose a fake BRT or light rail, which would both be ridiculously stupid options.
As a resident of Toronto I have been in Baltimore 4 times and I love the city. I was there for the Memorial day weekend in 2011, 98F and 98% humidity, unbelievable. I asked a transit worker if they got snow in the winter and he said yes. I asked him if they shut the metro down like Washington did and he said no. I asked why not and his reply was, "we have this new invention called a snow plow." I loved it. I stayed in my boat at the dock downtown near the aquarium and wandered around the local area walking up to the art gallery and over to the B and O museum. People told me I was crazy as the area was unsafe but I said that during the day time what I saw were local residents, all Black, cleaning the sidewalks and streets in front of their houses and taking pride in their local areas. I asked them where I could get milk and supplies and never has any negative interactions. I am white and was 65 at the time. I was never afraid being in the area in the day time. All the residents were friendly when I asked for directions to things but looked at me as if I were slightly crazy but so what. I also asked for a local transit map at the Tourist Information Centre so I could take a bus to a West Marine store to get a part for my boat. They kept telling me where I could rent a car but I kept saying I wanted to take the bus. They finally found a map, but it was in Spanish. I took the bus there and had to change near Johns Hopkins. When I told locals this their reply was, "And you survived?" I asked locals where to catch the next bus and they were very friendly and helpful. Coming back I found the water taxis and they were vary fast and scenic but I would have taken the bus if I had to. I think many white Americans are afraid of non whites for no valid reason. I often wandered around areas of US cities that were definitely non white and never experienced any problems. Maybe there is something to the old saying that god protects mad dogs and Englishmen but maybe you should try and get to now people of other races.
Great video. I think it bears mentioning the continued underinvestment in upkeep that has led to unannounced cancellations, track issues, and more. Baltimore deserves the 5-8 minute headways you mentioned, but often sees waits upwards of an hour to board.
I fell down the transit TH-cam well over a year ago and have been stuck down here ever since. So I’m happy to see a new Baltimore flavored substance to feed my addiction! Keep up the good work! Would love to see something on how to best advocate in this city, or a video on the current state of micro mobility. Thanks again!
Station stops at Morgan and Mervo make so much sense, when I had my first job as a teen out Hunt Valley I used to have to either get a car ride from Mervo, my high school down the street from Morgan State, or catch the bus for an hour down to Lexington Market or Baltimore Arena to the light rail and catch that out to Hunt Valley where my job was. If the metro extended to Morgan or Mervo it woulda cut my commute time in half. If the light rail line was heavy rail it would’ve been even faster. Baltimore’s transit woes are why all teens from the city want to drive asap, because getting around otherwise SUCKS
Also amazing video, thank you for your blunt address of Maryland transit issues! I feel like I can finally breathe now that someone's making videos on this.
Baltimore is a story of failure after failure, largely stemming from or compounded by racism. It has the bones to be a great city. It was in the top 10 cities in America every census until 1980. It's 40 miles from the capital of the US. It has a sea port that process a lot of cargo. The aesthetic of the neighborhoods that haven't been blighted is incredibly charming. But they just can't capitalize on it.
As a lifelong marylander who lives on the silver line in pg but has lots of family in Baltimore. I can't express enough how much I appreciate you for finally shedding light on this topic. And ACTUALLY saying the quiet part/real reason things are the way they are now in Maryland, racism!! I love this state, its my home, so it hurts to see us not recognise and take advantage of just how much potential we have.
I go to UMBC which is 6 miles by foot to the inner harbor and when i learned about the failed metro project it really shocked me considering how many students like to go to fed hill or commute from the owings mill area. Not extending the line southwest literally misses 4000 on-campus residents and thousands of commuters
Even with its flaws, the Subway is the best mode of transit in town. If the Red Line fizzles out again I'd like to see us switch to a strategy of adding new stations or spurs at a regular interval. Just like the Superblock, trying to build a whole transit line at once seems too ambitious and has got us nowhere since the 90s. Maybe a more piecemeal approach will finally start to get some gains. For instance, imagine if we extended the Metro Subway from Johns Hopkins down to Fells Point. Suddenly the whole system would be incredibly more useful with just a single additional stop. Or a spur to Penn Station to allow transfers to MARC and Amtrak.
My rant below aside. Amazing video. Keep up the great work! I used to like riding the light rail but with trains suddenly and frequently slowing down and stopping for seemingly no reason between stations I only ride it if I know there isn't going to be the weekly "bus bridge" in place. I used to ride the subway everyday during high school. I would ride from Milford Mill to Mondawmin for a transfer to the 22 bus. Now I no longer live in that part of the county. It is an absolute nightmare to get from where I live now to downtown. So most of the time I do not bother going downtown because it will take me an hour and a half to get there. It is a shame. Smaller cities have a more robust and reliable transit system than we do. And splitting bus routes was the biggest shame. I can't say how many times I've missed a connection because they split a once one seat ride into two or three. And I absolutely HATE that the revived Red Line completely left out the Eastern Baltimore County and end it only at Bayview. Eastern Ave./Dundalk Ave. is where all the heavy traffic is! There better be a "Phase II" that includes it.
I rode the Lightrail about once a week when I was in Poly, definitely were some frustrations with delays and one time the train seemed to lose power for a bit and was just sitting in one place for a few minutes with all the lights off. At least it goes faster than the traffic on 83, I guess.
Great video! The subway line really is the best piece of transit infrastructure in the city, despite how neglected it is. I don't think the light rail is a total lost cause for what it is, we basically just need to replace the current fleet of falling apart LRVs, and get real signal priority on the howard street section (honestly would prefer to close the street to cars entirely). But the current state budget won't even give the mdot mta enough money to utilize their federal grant to replace said LRVs. I totally agree about your extension to morgan state, I thought of a very similar proposal a month or two ago that would go up to parkville through morgan state and it would just serve the northeast sections of the city sooooo well. In a utopian world where the red line, the towson - port covington, and this subway extension were built maybe we could finally have a world class transit system that the city deserves.
I live in a VERY spread-out city, San Diego, that has a pretty intelligently planned out and pretty extensive (98 station) light rail transit system (but one that, due to the odd, downtown placement of our International airport, Lindbergh Field, does NOT actually reach the airport…stopping on the far Eastern corner, but not connecting..)…We have the highest ridership of any light rail system in the USA largely due to the placement of lines throughout the middle-class sections of the county, stretching 14 miles southward from Downtown to the Mexican border, fifteen miles East of downtown through Missiom Valley into the Eastern suburbs of La Mesa, El Cajon and Santee and now ten miles north into La Jolla and the campus of University of California, Sam Diego ( after previously also connecting to the campus of the Other main area college, San Diego State University)…There remain large sections of our sprawling area not connected yet, but the Trolley (as it’s called) pretty ably connects a very large portion of our 3 million plus community to a solidly run rapid light rail service and is rewarded with high ridership numbers.
This video A) taught me a lot about the city I now call home and B) made me really really angry! I'm looking at the 2002 map and realizing that I could be taking the train to work in Dundalk. Instead I have to drive 30 minutes both ways. :) I could take the train to O's games! :)))) I hate it!!!!! Good video. Subbed.
Another great video. It’s a shell of its planned self, but I like the metro and try to defend it against the uselessness allegations I hear from a lot of urbanists. Like you said, BWI is a huge miss but there’s value in connecting dense, working-class neighborhoods with job centers downtown and at Hopkins. In a way, I wish the MTA had recognized the county protests as promises of disuse and opted to build more track in the city (for both metro and eventually the light rail). A Morgan extension would be awesome (as would that Port Covington-Towson line) but they feel like pipe dreams in the current political climate. I still think meaningful gains can be made with better maintenance and TOD like you mentioned, the arrival of the new cars this year should reduce headways (I hope they keep some Budd units in service for that reason). I also think the farebox number would be much better across MTA if they implemented some kind of phone-compatible payment system, most stations keep a gate open for CharmPasses that don’t really get checked. Then again, given the inconsistencies and limitations of the system, that should be far from a priority. Maybe a medium-cost improvement would be getting a transfer to MARC at the Upton station. If you look at the B&P tunnel entrance from Argyle Ave., you can see the platforms from the old Pennsylvania Avenue station, and some of the structure is visible behind the Dollar Tree. Rebuild that and keep it as a local stop once the new tunnel is built. Thanks for making these, I’m interested in how the MTA’s ability to manage capital projects has progressed with the Purple Line. Are the delays and cost overruns there sourced from the same issues that hamstrung their Baltimore systems?
@@tayoilunga-reed8061 the fare collection systemwide is abysmal, and something I’m definitely writing a video about currently. Appreciate your kind words and insights! Thanks for watching!
@@phriendlyphotog What fare collection system? (jk) I recently visited and had a loaded SmarTrip card. I was able to use it on the light rail, although it's not initiative to use the ticket machine for validation. I tried to use it on a bus and the driver just waved me on because the reader was broken. The farebox looked quite old and I assume this is a constant occurrence.
@@JohnWagnerVideos Fares on Baltimore transit are a joke, quite frankly. It's the confusion that really doesn't imbue more tourists or locals to take it.
@ Online mapping services have definitely helped in this regard. The 75 bus from Camden Yards to BWI at 3am was pretty efficient. The condition of the bus also demonstrated to me that the MTA is trying given the circumstances.
@@JohnWagnerVideosOnline mapping/bus tracking exposes another problem with the metro: there’s no cell service in the underground stations, let alone between them. Not only does this make navigating harder, it repels riders worried about safety. You’re right, MTA does the best they can with what they have, but it’s still not enough.
slight correction regarding international attidudes about the poor. It's true! But in Europe the suburbs are poor minorities, not the city centers. And even then, there's more success at building things out to those poor neighhborhoods because the core rich population (the selectorate) sees the value. Great video though you earned a sub.
Thank you for the superbly executed, informative video. Clearly, much additional funding for metro expansion is requisite. The current situation has me weeping. Fortunately, I live car-free in Middelburg, the Netherlands. American city planners and politicians should look to the Dutch for guidance and expertise in developing public transport.
I like the idea of extending the Subway, but am a bit averse to an extension to Morgan State: Changing the existing, extremely suburban land use on the corridor to Morgan State will require a lot of persuasion, on a corridor that sees *okay* ridership. The existing CityLink Green/Silver also connects to more areas of downtown, while a train might necessitate a second, backtracking transfer after reaching Charles Center. That being said, existing Silver service levels to Morgan State is honestly shameful. The existing ridership seems to lean towards the CityLink Red along Greenmount, which also would connect to Towson University + downtown Towson. The existing commercial corridor would make it easier to promote development right along the line. I'm inclined to think achieving high ridership without radical zoning reforms would be difficult there. Thank you so much for making the video!!
Public transportation - Subway and Light Rail does come with crime issues. The Owings Mills Mall is closed and gone due to a murder connected to the Subway. That was the beginning of the end for the mall. Also the Light Rail contributes to an increase in criminal activities in the Hunt Valley shopping area. On the flip side, there are a lot of people who use the Subway and Light Rail to get to work. My co-worker takes the Light Rail from Baltimore to Hunt Valley. She has told me some scary stories!
Though in Europe, there isn't this idea that subways should somehow be reserved for areas where the tax pool can afford it. Or much, much less. In many European cities, the subways and / or higher orders of transit almost serve the poorer areas more than the richer ones. It's usually driven by need and not by the tax pool in Europe. One current example would be the humongous Grand Paris Express metro expansion, which serves substantially more the poorer areas than the rich ones. New lines 16 and 17 run through the Northeastern quadrant of the city-region, through the 93rd department, which is the poorest in mainland France. It's also where the largest main hub station of the expansion was built. Line 15, which is the giant express metro loop around the core city that runs in the inner ring of suburbs, has many more stations on its Northern and Southern parts than on the richer Western part. And historically, the Paris metro used to run more in poorer suburbs than in rich ones. Lines 7, 8, and 13 were extended decades ago to communist led suburban municipalities. Also, the very first line of the modern tramway network in Greater Paris was built in poor neighborhoods, and this area currently has 5 tramway lines, 3 RER lines, and several metro lines. The richest suburbs tend to have the least transit, both in terms of lines and station density. And even in the core's periphery, the only remaining gap in the circular tramway loop is precisely located in the richest part of Paris, the West side along the Boulogne park. The only recent transit development in a clearly richer area that I can think of is the express tramway T13 in the Western suburbs. All others were built in areas with varied wealth and poorer ones.
15:50 I'm sorry but no. This attitude you speak of is exclusive to North America, Mexico excluded. At most it's an attitude spread across the English speaking world.
Damn! We could have had an extensive subway system in Baltimore. This is news to me. I wish they had followed through on the plan. I'm kinda pissed off that they didn't.
Wow as a NYer this is very interesting because even in our vast subway system, expansion was also stunted by racist protests and financial issues. The MTA had plans to expand into the outer boroughs of the city in the 70s but many white residents in these areas opposed it as it would drive more black people into these communities. Because of this, it has made many NY residents (particularly outer Queens) outside of Manhattan have to rely on buses to connect to the subway, essentially making a trip to the city a two or three fare trip. But definitely in the case of Baltimore, this lack of expansion is truly unfortunate.
Ok. It's true it been much dollars in 70 s. But 25 cents brought cold soda. A dime brought ne was paper. No tech stuff. People made 2 bucks an hour. All in all same cost. Parking was necessary. Many more people worked downtown. Schaefer felt that light all we could get. Btw I worked in public train 34 years. 1990 s and 2000 s where in B more. Killin b more killed it.
As a black man from Southern California I really found the story of the Baltimore Metro very interesting and not too different than why LA took so long to get their Metro system up and running. However -real talk- you kind of sound like one of those liberals who believe black people aren't smart enough to know how to get an ID, buy a car or properly care for their families as well as whites. I noticed how you're quick the point out Republicans opposition to the Metro but failed to the point out how Democrats kept their feet on the black man's neck also, especially Pres. Lyndon Johnson whose image you repeatedly showed but made no comments about his perpetual destruction of the black family with his 'liberal social programs' of that same era which no doubt justified the planning decisions of the MTA 😢 Basically what I'm saying is if you're going to tell a story of social injustice make it balanced. Some black people may not be afforded a Metro stop in their neighborhood but we're not stupid. IJS.... Happy 2025🥳🎉🎆
I don't think he believes black people in general cant get an ID and buy a car, but many people just don't have the money to do so, especially in Baltimore which has areas where the household income is low as 15,000 a year which leaves very little extra money for a car after rent+food+other necessities. I do wish he had a local black person on who could have explained things a bit more in depth and how better transit would help these very low income communities. Happy new year!
Bruh... I'm a black man living in Baltimore and respectfully, some of your comments are reaching and reading into what was said in the video. "I noticed how you're quick [to] point out Republicans opposition to the Metro but failed to the point out how Democrats kept their feet on the black man's neck also..." I actually rewatched the video after seeing this comment and there was no mention of "Republican opposition" or outright assignment of blame to political parties for the failure to develop the Baltimore subway. The only mention of a political party was when Phil said our last governor recently failed at his Senate run as a Republican nominee. Maryland and Baltimore City are both deeply Blue and have been for several DECADES. The Maryland Legislature has enjoyed a Democratic supermajority for probably just as long. So, it's well understood by those of us living here that Democratic officials have overseen many of these decisions to not further invest in Baltimore's transit system. We currently have a Democrat governor and it's looking like it will be a challenge to get him to do more, so Democrats are not let off the hook here. "Basically what I'm saying is if you're going to tell a story of social injustice make it balanced. Some black people may not be afforded a Metro stop in their neighborhood but we're not stupid." There was no implication of Black people being stupid. Based on your comments, my sense is you've likely never been to Baltimore, and/or you are unfamiliar with the history of the city's politics, physical development, and urban design. Baltimore is a hypersegregated city with overwhelmingly black neighborhoods, overwhelmingly white neighborhoods, and a relative sprinkling of more racially-integrated neighborhoods here and there. For context, note that Baltimore is the birthplace of redlining policies---the first city in America to deploy such discriminatory housing tactics and show everyone else how to do it. There is a deep history of racial division in the greater Baltimore area that continues to reverberate even today and impacts many aspects of the built environment here, especially transportation infrastructure plans; it would be nearly impossible to discuss the transit system here without referencing this history and present-day racial dynamics. For me there's not a takeway that Phil might subconsciously think that Blacks are stupid. Hope this helps contextualize what you're hearing from the video. If not then I guess we'd have to agree to disagree. But either way, cheers and Happy New Year to you and yours!!
@@jayell1761 Well said and I stand corrected. Thank you for your comprehensive response. I have a niece who move there after she became an adult and it's extremely successful in real estate. I also had several young friends that move there from Southern Cali and quickly moved back with a quickness at the first opportunity. You have a happy end prosperous 2025 yourself 👍🏼 PS- Glad I don't live there 😄.... Peace 🙏🏼
This is incredibly semantic, but MARC does own *some* of the track they operate on; they own the Frederick branch of the Brunswick line! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Branch_(Baltimore_and_Ohio_Railroad)
Fellow Baltimorean here. Came by your video by surfing. Great job doing research. My brother and I suspected why the system the way it is. THANK YOU!!!!!
Rail fans and transit enthusiasts deserve way more recognition fr. Nice video!
I've never been to Baltimore, but I love your passion and local knowledge. Advocates like you are desperately needed in cities all across North America.
Absolutely fantastic video. When planning my move back to the East Coast, having access to an extensive rapid transit system was one of my priorities, so my cities of choice were DC, NYC, and Boston. I ended up deciding on DC but after watching this video, it is unfortunate to realize what could have been if Baltimore succeeded in building out their metro lines as originally planned. Maryland's most populated city deserves more than _just_ one metro line. It would do a great service to the city if the state could better prioritize getting these lines finally built out.
Great video! As one who grew up in Randallstown and used the Metro sparingly, it’s aggravating the service is not more well connected to the Baltimore Metro region like its original proposal even after all these years. It would have let me appreciate the city and its suburbs more than being chauffeured around in a car constantly. Having siblings go to school in Boston and Philly and discuss their transit systems, it’s sad how comparatively Baltimore lags behind in the northeast corridor. MD needs to get its act together to improve the public transit system for the benefit of all.
Great video on the Maryland Department of Transportation, Maryland Transit Administration, Balitmore Metro Subway Link, it's got potential, especially if they ever extend it up to Towson to replace the red bus line which is the busiest that MTA runs AFAIK.
@@sammymarrco47 thanks!
And, yea, there’s currently suuuuuper preliminary studies about a North-South transit line from Towson to Port Covington that’s been in the works for a while, and while metro is an option, they very likely will choose a fake BRT or light rail, which would both be ridiculously stupid options.
You should look at the 2002 regional plan the green line
As a resident of Toronto I have been in Baltimore 4 times and I love the city. I was there for the Memorial day weekend in 2011, 98F and 98% humidity, unbelievable. I asked a transit worker if they got snow in the winter and he said yes. I asked him if they shut the metro down like Washington did and he said no. I asked why not and his reply was, "we have this new invention called a snow plow." I loved it.
I stayed in my boat at the dock downtown near the aquarium and wandered around the local area walking up to the art gallery and over to the B and O museum. People told me I was crazy as the area was unsafe but I said that during the day time what I saw were local residents, all Black, cleaning the sidewalks and streets in front of their houses and taking pride in their local areas. I asked them where I could get milk and supplies and never has any negative interactions. I am white and was 65 at the time. I was never afraid being in the area in the day time. All the residents were friendly when I asked for directions to things but looked at me as if I were slightly crazy but so what.
I also asked for a local transit map at the Tourist Information Centre so I could take a bus to a West Marine store to get a part for my boat. They kept telling me where I could rent a car but I kept saying I wanted to take the bus. They finally found a map, but it was in Spanish. I took the bus there and had to change near Johns Hopkins. When I told locals this their reply was, "And you survived?" I asked locals where to catch the next bus and they were very friendly and helpful. Coming back I found the water taxis and they were vary fast and scenic but I would have taken the bus if I had to. I think many white Americans are afraid of non whites for no valid reason. I often wandered around areas of US cities that were definitely non white and never experienced any problems. Maybe there is something to the old saying that god protects mad dogs and Englishmen but maybe you should try and get to now people of other races.
great video, I love local deep dives, adds character to locations and its limitless in topic choice
Great video. I think it bears mentioning the continued underinvestment in upkeep that has led to unannounced cancellations, track issues, and more. Baltimore deserves the 5-8 minute headways you mentioned, but often sees waits upwards of an hour to board.
@@hdog679 agreed. That corridor deserves so much more investment than it currently gets.
I fell down the transit TH-cam well over a year ago and have been stuck down here ever since. So I’m happy to see a new Baltimore flavored substance to feed my addiction! Keep up the good work! Would love to see something on how to best advocate in this city, or a video on the current state of micro mobility. Thanks again!
Station stops at Morgan and Mervo make so much sense, when I had my first job as a teen out Hunt Valley I used to have to either get a car ride from Mervo, my high school down the street from Morgan State, or catch the bus for an hour down to Lexington Market or Baltimore Arena to the light rail and catch that out to Hunt Valley where my job was. If the metro extended to Morgan or Mervo it woulda cut my commute time in half. If the light rail line was heavy rail it would’ve been even faster. Baltimore’s transit woes are why all teens from the city want to drive asap, because getting around otherwise SUCKS
Also amazing video, thank you for your blunt address of Maryland transit issues! I feel like I can finally breathe now that someone's making videos on this.
Baltimore is a story of failure after failure, largely stemming from or compounded by racism.
It has the bones to be a great city. It was in the top 10 cities in America every census until 1980. It's 40 miles from the capital of the US. It has a sea port that process a lot of cargo. The aesthetic of the neighborhoods that haven't been blighted is incredibly charming. But they just can't capitalize on it.
As a lifelong marylander who lives on the silver line in pg but has lots of family in Baltimore. I can't express enough how much I appreciate you for finally shedding light on this topic. And ACTUALLY saying the quiet part/real reason things are the way they are now in Maryland, racism!! I love this state, its my home, so it hurts to see us not recognise and take advantage of just how much potential we have.
The closes station when I used to live was old court and Milford mill stations I miss Baltimore
I go to UMBC which is 6 miles by foot to the inner harbor and when i learned about the failed metro project it really shocked me considering how many students like to go to fed hill or commute from the owings mill area. Not extending the line southwest literally misses 4000 on-campus residents and thousands of commuters
Now Downtown is like 90% parking garages or buildings on top of 8 stories of parking.
Even with its flaws, the Subway is the best mode of transit in town. If the Red Line fizzles out again I'd like to see us switch to a strategy of adding new stations or spurs at a regular interval. Just like the Superblock, trying to build a whole transit line at once seems too ambitious and has got us nowhere since the 90s. Maybe a more piecemeal approach will finally start to get some gains. For instance, imagine if we extended the Metro Subway from Johns Hopkins down to Fells Point. Suddenly the whole system would be incredibly more useful with just a single additional stop. Or a spur to Penn Station to allow transfers to MARC and Amtrak.
Great video! Super thorough and brutally honest
My rant below aside. Amazing video. Keep up the great work!
I used to like riding the light rail but with trains suddenly and frequently slowing down and stopping for seemingly no reason between stations I only ride it if I know there isn't going to be the weekly "bus bridge" in place. I used to ride the subway everyday during high school. I would ride from Milford Mill to Mondawmin for a transfer to the 22 bus. Now I no longer live in that part of the county. It is an absolute nightmare to get from where I live now to downtown. So most of the time I do not bother going downtown because it will take me an hour and a half to get there.
It is a shame. Smaller cities have a more robust and reliable transit system than we do. And splitting bus routes was the biggest shame. I can't say how many times I've missed a connection because they split a once one seat ride into two or three.
And I absolutely HATE that the revived Red Line completely left out the Eastern Baltimore County and end it only at Bayview. Eastern Ave./Dundalk Ave. is where all the heavy traffic is! There better be a "Phase II" that includes it.
I rode the Lightrail about once a week when I was in Poly, definitely were some frustrations with delays and one time the train seemed to lose power for a bit and was just sitting in one place for a few minutes with all the lights off. At least it goes faster than the traffic on 83, I guess.
Great video! The subway line really is the best piece of transit infrastructure in the city, despite how neglected it is. I don't think the light rail is a total lost cause for what it is, we basically just need to replace the current fleet of falling apart LRVs, and get real signal priority on the howard street section (honestly would prefer to close the street to cars entirely). But the current state budget won't even give the mdot mta enough money to utilize their federal grant to replace said LRVs.
I totally agree about your extension to morgan state, I thought of a very similar proposal a month or two ago that would go up to parkville through morgan state and it would just serve the northeast sections of the city sooooo well. In a utopian world where the red line, the towson - port covington, and this subway extension were built maybe we could finally have a world class transit system that the city deserves.
Awesome video, thank you for the research!
This video rules!
@@surge208 thanks!
12:13 And you know what else is massive
I live in a VERY spread-out city, San Diego, that has a pretty intelligently planned out and pretty extensive (98 station) light rail transit system (but one that, due to the odd, downtown placement of our International airport, Lindbergh Field, does NOT actually reach the airport…stopping on the far Eastern corner, but not connecting..)…We have the highest ridership of any light rail system in the USA largely due to the placement of lines throughout the middle-class sections of the county, stretching 14 miles southward from Downtown to the Mexican border, fifteen miles East of downtown through Missiom Valley into the Eastern suburbs of La Mesa, El Cajon and Santee and now ten miles north into La Jolla and the campus of University of California, Sam Diego ( after previously also connecting to the campus of the Other main area college, San Diego State University)…There remain large sections of our sprawling area not connected yet, but the Trolley (as it’s called) pretty ably connects a very large portion of our 3 million plus community to a solidly run rapid light rail service and is rewarded with high ridership numbers.
This video A) taught me a lot about the city I now call home and B) made me really really angry! I'm looking at the 2002 map and realizing that I could be taking the train to work in Dundalk. Instead I have to drive 30 minutes both ways. :) I could take the train to O's games! :)))) I hate it!!!!!
Good video. Subbed.
Thank you for making this video.
Thank you for this assessment! I've grew up in Baltimore in always said it seems like Baltimore has been stuck in stagnation!
A fantastic video.
HELL YES, PREACH!
Charles Center Metro had an MVA Express at one point down there 😊
Love the video!
Another great video. It’s a shell of its planned self, but I like the metro and try to defend it against the uselessness allegations I hear from a lot of urbanists. Like you said, BWI is a huge miss but there’s value in connecting dense, working-class neighborhoods with job centers downtown and at Hopkins. In a way, I wish the MTA had recognized the county protests as promises of disuse and opted to build more track in the city (for both metro and eventually the light rail).
A Morgan extension would be awesome (as would that Port Covington-Towson line) but they feel like pipe dreams in the current political climate. I still think meaningful gains can be made with better maintenance and TOD like you mentioned, the arrival of the new cars this year should reduce headways (I hope they keep some Budd units in service for that reason).
I also think the farebox number would be much better across MTA if they implemented some kind of phone-compatible payment system, most stations keep a gate open for CharmPasses that don’t really get checked. Then again, given the inconsistencies and limitations of the system, that should be far from a priority.
Maybe a medium-cost improvement would be getting a transfer to MARC at the Upton station. If you look at the B&P tunnel entrance from Argyle Ave., you can see the platforms from the old Pennsylvania Avenue station, and some of the structure is visible behind the Dollar Tree. Rebuild that and keep it as a local stop once the new tunnel is built.
Thanks for making these, I’m interested in how the MTA’s ability to manage capital projects has progressed with the Purple Line. Are the delays and cost overruns there sourced from the same issues that hamstrung their Baltimore systems?
@@tayoilunga-reed8061 the fare collection systemwide is abysmal, and something I’m definitely writing a video about currently.
Appreciate your kind words and insights! Thanks for watching!
@@phriendlyphotog What fare collection system? (jk)
I recently visited and had a loaded SmarTrip card. I was able to use it on the light rail, although it's not initiative to use the ticket machine for validation. I tried to use it on a bus and the driver just waved me on because the reader was broken. The farebox looked quite old and I assume this is a constant occurrence.
@@JohnWagnerVideos Fares on Baltimore transit are a joke, quite frankly. It's the confusion that really doesn't imbue more tourists or locals to take it.
@ Online mapping services have definitely helped in this regard. The 75 bus from Camden Yards to BWI at 3am was pretty efficient. The condition of the bus also demonstrated to me that the MTA is trying given the circumstances.
@@JohnWagnerVideosOnline mapping/bus tracking exposes another problem with the metro: there’s no cell service in the underground stations, let alone between them. Not only does this make navigating harder, it repels riders worried about safety. You’re right, MTA does the best they can with what they have, but it’s still not enough.
dang you're really just taking all the ideas i had for making baltimore transit videos....
slight correction regarding international attidudes about the poor. It's true! But in Europe the suburbs are poor minorities, not the city centers. And even then, there's more success at building things out to those poor neighhborhoods because the core rich population (the selectorate) sees the value. Great video though you earned a sub.
Thank you for the superbly executed, informative video. Clearly, much additional funding for metro expansion is requisite. The current situation has me weeping. Fortunately, I live car-free in Middelburg, the Netherlands. American city planners and politicians should look to the Dutch for guidance and expertise in developing public transport.
This was an excellent video!
Thanks!
I like the idea of extending the Subway, but am a bit averse to an extension to Morgan State:
Changing the existing, extremely suburban land use on the corridor to Morgan State will require a lot of persuasion, on a corridor that sees *okay* ridership. The existing CityLink Green/Silver also connects to more areas of downtown, while a train might necessitate a second, backtracking transfer after reaching Charles Center. That being said, existing Silver service levels to Morgan State is honestly shameful.
The existing ridership seems to lean towards the CityLink Red along Greenmount, which also would connect to Towson University + downtown Towson. The existing commercial corridor would make it easier to promote development right along the line.
I'm inclined to think achieving high ridership without radical zoning reforms would be difficult there.
Thank you so much for making the video!!
Public transportation - Subway and Light Rail does come with crime issues. The Owings Mills Mall is closed and gone due to a murder connected to the Subway. That was the beginning of the end for the mall. Also the Light Rail contributes to an increase in criminal activities in the Hunt Valley shopping area. On the flip side, there are a lot of people who use the Subway and Light Rail to get to work. My co-worker takes the Light Rail from Baltimore to Hunt Valley. She has told me some scary stories!
Though in Europe, there isn't this idea that subways should somehow be reserved for areas where the tax pool can afford it. Or much, much less.
In many European cities, the subways and / or higher orders of transit almost serve the poorer areas more than the richer ones.
It's usually driven by need and not by the tax pool in Europe.
One current example would be the humongous Grand Paris Express metro expansion, which serves substantially more the poorer areas than the rich ones. New lines 16 and 17 run through the Northeastern quadrant of the city-region, through the 93rd department, which is the poorest in mainland France. It's also where the largest main hub station of the expansion was built.
Line 15, which is the giant express metro loop around the core city that runs in the inner ring of suburbs, has many more stations on its Northern and Southern parts than on the richer Western part.
And historically, the Paris metro used to run more in poorer suburbs than in rich ones. Lines 7, 8, and 13 were extended decades ago to communist led suburban municipalities.
Also, the very first line of the modern tramway network in Greater Paris was built in poor neighborhoods, and this area currently has 5 tramway lines, 3 RER lines, and several metro lines.
The richest suburbs tend to have the least transit, both in terms of lines and station density.
And even in the core's periphery, the only remaining gap in the circular tramway loop is precisely located in the richest part of Paris, the West side along the Boulogne park.
The only recent transit development in a clearly richer area that I can think of is the express tramway T13 in the Western suburbs.
All others were built in areas with varied wealth and poorer ones.
0:56 Why do I keep bursting out at that part? Is that from something? Is it a meme?
Interesting content but all the obnoxious and loud memes really bring the rest of the video down.
15:50 I'm sorry but no. This attitude you speak of is exclusive to North America, Mexico excluded. At most it's an attitude spread across the English speaking world.
Damn! We could have had an extensive subway system in Baltimore. This is news to me. I wish they had followed through on the plan. I'm kinda pissed off that they didn't.
With a budget shortfall of 3 billion dollars new transit projects is on a back burner
At 3:26, they were right. Look at MD right now
Wow as a NYer this is very interesting because even in our vast subway system, expansion was also stunted by racist protests and financial issues. The MTA had plans to expand into the outer boroughs of the city in the 70s but many white residents in these areas opposed it as it would drive more black people into these communities. Because of this, it has made many NY residents (particularly outer Queens) outside of Manhattan have to rely on buses to connect to the subway, essentially making a trip to the city a two or three fare trip. But definitely in the case of Baltimore, this lack of expansion is truly unfortunate.
5-8 minutes? What are the headways now because to me subways run every 2-5 minutes
Do the light rail
Noterdame score
I think you d make good polotican. You can sling hash well.
Did decreased senator mulikysky stop subway. Like stopped highway to no wear in her neighborhood. It wasn't all Anne Arundel counties fault.
Ok. It's true it been much dollars in 70 s. But 25 cents brought cold soda. A dime brought ne was paper. No tech stuff. People made 2 bucks an hour. All in all same cost. Parking was necessary. Many more people worked downtown. Schaefer felt that light all we could get. Btw I worked in public train 34 years. 1990 s and 2000 s where in B more. Killin b more killed it.
As a black man from Southern California I really found the story of the Baltimore Metro very interesting and not too different than why LA took so long to get their Metro system up and running. However -real talk- you kind of sound like one of those liberals who believe black people aren't smart enough to know how to get an ID, buy a car or properly care for their families as well as whites. I noticed how you're quick the point out Republicans opposition to the Metro but failed to the point out how Democrats kept their feet on the black man's neck also, especially Pres. Lyndon Johnson whose image you repeatedly showed but made no comments about his perpetual destruction of the black family with his 'liberal social programs' of that same era which no doubt justified the planning decisions of the MTA 😢 Basically what I'm saying is if you're going to tell a story of social injustice make it balanced. Some black people may not be afforded a Metro stop in their neighborhood but we're not stupid. IJS.... Happy 2025🥳🎉🎆
I don't think he believes black people in general cant get an ID and buy a car, but many people just don't have the money to do so, especially in Baltimore which has areas where the household income is low as 15,000 a year which leaves very little extra money for a car after rent+food+other necessities. I do wish he had a local black person on who could have explained things a bit more in depth and how better transit would help these very low income communities. Happy new year!
Bruh... I'm a black man living in Baltimore and respectfully, some of your comments are reaching and reading into what was said in the video.
"I noticed how you're quick [to] point out Republicans opposition to the Metro but failed to the point out how Democrats kept their feet on the black man's neck also..."
I actually rewatched the video after seeing this comment and there was no mention of "Republican opposition" or outright assignment of blame to political parties for the failure to develop the Baltimore subway. The only mention of a political party was when Phil said our last governor recently failed at his Senate run as a Republican nominee. Maryland and Baltimore City are both deeply Blue and have been for several DECADES. The Maryland Legislature has enjoyed a Democratic supermajority for probably just as long. So, it's well understood by those of us living here that Democratic officials have overseen many of these decisions to not further invest in Baltimore's transit system. We currently have a Democrat governor and it's looking like it will be a challenge to get him to do more, so Democrats are not let off the hook here.
"Basically what I'm saying is if you're going to tell a story of social injustice make it balanced. Some black people may not be afforded a Metro stop in their neighborhood but we're not stupid."
There was no implication of Black people being stupid. Based on your comments, my sense is you've likely never been to Baltimore, and/or you are unfamiliar with the history of the city's politics, physical development, and urban design. Baltimore is a hypersegregated city with overwhelmingly black neighborhoods, overwhelmingly white neighborhoods, and a relative sprinkling of more racially-integrated neighborhoods here and there. For context, note that Baltimore is the birthplace of redlining policies---the first city in America to deploy such discriminatory housing tactics and show everyone else how to do it. There is a deep history of racial division in the greater Baltimore area that continues to reverberate even today and impacts many aspects of the built environment here, especially transportation infrastructure plans; it would be nearly impossible to discuss the transit system here without referencing this history and present-day racial dynamics. For me there's not a takeway that Phil might subconsciously think that Blacks are stupid. Hope this helps contextualize what you're hearing from the video. If not then I guess we'd have to agree to disagree. But either way, cheers and Happy New Year to you and yours!!
@@jayell1761 Well said and I stand corrected. Thank you for your comprehensive response. I have a niece who move there after she became an adult and it's extremely successful in real estate. I also had several young friends that move there from Southern Cali and quickly moved back with a quickness at the first opportunity. You have a happy end prosperous 2025 yourself 👍🏼
PS- Glad I don't live there 😄.... Peace 🙏🏼
This is incredibly semantic, but MARC does own *some* of the track they operate on; they own the Frederick branch of the Brunswick line!
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Branch_(Baltimore_and_Ohio_Railroad)