TRANSPORTATION
Fact Sheets: October 2001 and Fall 2002
Transportation Structure of the State of Maryland
The Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) is organized into six administrations:
- The Maryland Aviation Administration, which administers the state airports
(MAA)
- The State Highway Administration (SHA)
- The Maryland Transit Administration (MTA)
- The Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA)
-
The Maryland Port Administration (MPA)
- The Maryland Transportation Authority, which administers the toll facilities
(and is funded independently). (MdTA)
Transportation
is funded, not from general revenues, but from an integrated account
called the Transportation Trust Fund, created in 1971. It draws revenue
from motor fuel taxes, motor vehicle taxes and fees, corporate income
taxes, operating revenues, bond proceeds, and federal aid. Thirty
percent of the funds are distributed to the City of Baltimore, the
counties and municipalities; seventy percent to MDOT. The fuel tax is a
flat $0.235 per gallon so it is consumption-sensitive, but not
inflation-sensitive.
In 1999 a Maryland Commission on Transportation Investment was charged
with the task of developing "a comprehensive, long-term solution that
generates revenues sufficient to maintain a viable transportation
system and meets the long-term funding needs of mass transit." At that
time there was a projected $27 billion shortfall in revenue to maintain
existing systems and complete capital projects in the 20-year plans.
Potential sources of revenue outlined by that report incl uded:
- Expanding the sales tax base
- Increasing the sales tax rate
- Using existing
general funds
- Imposing transit taxes
- a property tax levy in the geographic
area served by transit
- Implementing congestion pricing
- Increasing the gasoline
tax or making it inflation-sensitive.
Measures to expand revenue sources have not been enacted, though a bill in
the 2000 General Assembly session called for an increase in the sales tax to be used for mass transit. Similar legislation
was introduced in the House of Delegates in the 2001 session but died without
a vote in committee.
Basic capital decisions on transportation projects are made through the
annua l review of the six-year Consolidated Transportation Program
(CTP). The CTP is developed with input from local jurisdictions, though
not public input. Local elected officials must concur before a highway
project advances to final planning. It is presented in each county for
public comment in the Fall. It goes to the Governor and then is
submitted to the Maryland General Assembly for spending authorization.
The stated priorities of the CTP are: maintaining the existing systems,
mobility, economic development, environment, smart growth, doubling
transit ridership and transportation choices (pedestrian and bicycle
facilities). To the extent that priorities are indicated by
expenditures, the FY2001-2006 CTP expenditures are:
| State Highway Administration |
56%
|
|
Maryland Transit Administration |
16%
|
|
Washington Metro Area Transit |
15%
|
| Maryland Aviation Administration |
6%
|
Maryland Port Authority
|
5%
|
Motor Vehicle Administration
|
1%
|
Highways
The CTP is guided by the 1999 Maryland Transportation Plan, the long-term plan
for transportation, adopted by the Governor. In addition there are public meeti
ngs on specific projects during the planning and environmental review phases.
Proje cts are occasionally reconfigured after public input. Each project carries
a Smart Growth Status box and must go to the Maryland Board of Public Works
for an exem ption if it is not within the Planned Facilities Area.
In general, contact
between the local jurisdictions and the state is frequent and amiable.
Generally, projects are initiated by local jurisdictions as they are
familiar with choke points and plans for future development. If there
is a source of tension it is that projects move more slowly than local
jurisdictions would like due to lack of funds. Because highway projects
must be on the local jurisdiction general plan there is discussion in
the early stages of planning.
The Governor is the only official that can scratch a project or hurry a
project, but that role is seldom exercised. The local jurisdiction can
scratch a project by not putting it on its plan or can limit a project
by placing conditions on it in its plan. The role of the legislative
delegation is limited. Legislators have tried to delay projects without
success. At times a legislator has succeeded in getting additional
study or further discussion of a project to alter its configuration.
High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes increase the passenger capacity of
roadways. Congestion pricing uses the capacity more efficiently by
charging tolls to use roadways during high use hours.
Rideshare/Commuter Assistance, park & ride lots, and HOV lanes
facilitate carpooling.
Transit
Maryland's first statewide transit plan, The Maryland Comprehensive Transit
Plan, was released in December 2000. It has a goal of doubling ridership on
its transit systems by 2020. The plan includes the systems operated by the Mass
Transit Administration (MARC trains, Baltimore bus, metro and light rail), the
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metrorail and Metrobus), and
24 Locally Operated Transit Systems. The plan projects a 15% increase in popula
tion, but in the Baltimore and Washington regions a 42% increase in person trips
and a 65% increase in vehicle miles. Added highway congestion is projected but
can be relieved by transit usage. The plan calls for a shift in thinking from
fareb ox recovery as the measure of system performance to one of increasing
transit ride rship as the emphasis on cost-efficiency in the past has come at
the expense of innov ation and service delivery.
The current Governor supports transit improvements and his transit
initiatives passed in the 2001 General Assembly session to the tune of
$500 million of new funds over six years. It included new rail cars and
buses, the impimplementation of the SmartCard system, better
connections between modes of transportation, extended hours of
operation and frequency of serviceoeall measures to make trans it a
competitive alternative to the private automobile.
Operating
costs play a significant role in transit. Currently MTA must recover
40% of its operating costs through the farebox, changed from 50% with
League support in the 2000 General Assembly session. Local
jurisdictions don't have as frequent contact with MTA as they have with
SHA. Local jurisdictions obviously have great authority over their own
systems, which are heavily supported by the state. Changes in MTA
transit are subject to public hearings and routes are altered as a
result of public input. New rail lines have been proposed by MTA at its
own initiative.
Every county in Maryland is served by Locally Operated Transit systems,
both fixed route and demand response service. These systems feed the
metrorail services and major bus lines in urban jurisdictions. In rural
areas it is more likely to be vanpools or shared taxi services. The
federally funded Job Access and Reverse Commute programs are being
utilized throughout the state with the State Office of Planning writing
the grant requests.
MTA provides commuter bus (morning and evening) service to eleven counties.
Generally this services runs from park and ride lots to the central city. MTA
operates MARC heavy rail commuter passenger service on CSX-owned rail rights-of-way.
Safe and clean transit stops, sufficient parking at terminals/stops,
pedestrian access to transit stops, express buses (fewer stops) or
rapid buses (dedicated lanes, ability to override lights) and readily
available schedule information all work together to make transit a
competitive option for travel. The SmartCard, better integration of
schedules between modes of transit, and shuttles from transit stops to
destinations are proposed by MTA.
Discounts and employer programs such as pre-tax dollars for use of transit
or the Commuter Choice state tax credit, provide incentives. Reverse Commute
or Job Access programs encourage local transit systems to innovate with new
routes and demand response programs.
Regional Metropolitan Planning Organizations
Under federal law, every metropolitan area is required to have a Metropolitan
Planning Organization (MPO) that develops a transportation plan in order to
qualify for federal funding. The original intent was that the MPO would be
the regional transportation planner, responsible for making planning decisions.
However, the jurisdictions (states, cities and counties) have been unwilling
to delegate their autonomy to the MPO. The main function of the MPO has been
to assemble and analyze regional data for long-range forecasts. The long-range
transportation plans consist of the programs the states believe can be funded
and plan to build.
Parts of Maryland are in three MPOs: the Baltimore Metropolitan Council, the
Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, and the Wilmington Metropolitan
Area Planning Coordinating Council. In addition, the cities of Cumberland and
Hagerstown have their own organizations.
Federal Role
TEA-21, The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, enacted in 1998,
is the current federal policy on transportation. It continues the approach of
ISTEA, the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991, in tying
transportation funds to air quality and a focus on a strong planning process
as the foundation of good transportation decisions. It continues the flexibilit
y in use of the federal trust fund ($.184 per gallon gasoline tax is allocated
$.1544 for highways, $.0286 for mass transit) for a variety of transportation
and related uses. The policy is very comprehensive covering historic covered
bridge preservation, safety programs, bicycle and pedestrian pathways, scenic
byways, transportation enhancements (wildflowers in the median strips) and the
MagLev demonstration.
Relationship to Land Use
Local jurisdictions jealously guard local control over land use. Highways are
overcrowded the week they open as traffic moves to a new pattern. Development
then follows the highways to cheaper land in the hinterlands. The single family
home with privacy remains the American dream and sprawl continues. Lack of affo
rdable close-in housing induces people to move further and further out. There
are more automobiles per household and individuals go in all different directions
in the morning.
Clearly our living patterns are not efficient. So, where do
we go from here? The problem is twofold: providing for dispersed development
patterns that exist today and encouraging more rational development in the
future with transit as an attractive option.
- Programs which address land use are Smart Growth, Transit Oriented Developmen
t, Live Near Your Work, bicycle/pedestrian pathways, telecommuting and flextime
work schedules.
- Programs which market transportation include easily available information
on transit, and special promotional events such as Try Transit Week/ Clean Commute Week/Bike-to-Work Week.
- Programs which promote emissions abatement are ENDZONE Partners Program, Adva
nced Technology Vehicle Program, Diesel Emissions Control Program and SUV emissions
control through federal standards.
Related League of Women Voters positions
Access to Transportation:
The LWVUS believes that energy-efficient and environmentally sound transportati
on systems should afford better access to housing and jobs and will continue
to examine transportation policies in light of these goals.
League concern at the national level about public transportation grew out
of efforts on behalf of equal opportunity for employment and housing. The 1971
Air Quality position added another dimension to this concern by urging "measures
to reduce vehicular pollutionand development of alternate transportation syst
ems." In 1976, following League concurrence on the Energy Conservation position,
the national board reaffirmed the national League's Transportation position.
In 1979, the Urban Policy position reinforced the theme that federal aid for
highw ay construction should be reduced, and the Transportation position wording
was changed to make that point clear. Leagues continue to use the Transportation
position together with their own local or ILO positions to back local and regio
nal moves to improve mass transit and to support other alternatives, such as
express lanes for buses and carpools.
In addition under the Principles of the LWVUS the following is stated:
The League of Women Voters believes that efficient and economical government
requires competent personnel, the clear assignment of responsibility, adequate
financing, and coordination among the different agencies and levels of government.
LWVMD position on revenue sources:
- Support for a motor vehicle fuel tax on a per gallon basis to be used for
transportation, with measures to protect the environment.
-
Action to support or oppose proposed changes to Maryland's revenue structure
by using the following principles to analyze and evaluate the proposed changes.
-
Support for use of the following principles (no single revenue source will meet
all principles), with numbers 1 through 3 the most important and numbers 4 through 6 more important than the others:
- Adequate yield
-
Equity/fairness - ability to pay
- Compatibility with state social and environmental policy
- Cost effective administration
- Elasticity/natural growth
-
Equity/fairness - levied in proportion to benefit received
- Simplicity
- Certainty
- Public acceptance
- Compatibility and links with federal policy
- Competitive business climate
Glossary
- Advanced Technology Vehicle Program - encourages use of Compressed
Natural Gas (CNG) and other alternative clean fuels
CHART - (Coordinated Highways Action Response Team) - signs, traffic management, and congestion monitoring to ease traffic flow
Clean Commute Week - public information event to encourage use of alternative transportation choices
Commute Smart - program to reduce traffic, increase travel choices, and
reduce emissions
Commuter Assistance - regional voluntary program to encourage carpooling
by employees
Commuter Choice - MD program allowing employers to claim a 50% state
tax credit for providing transit benefits to employees
Congestion/ Variable/ Value Pricing - optimizes existing roadway capacit
y by charging variable tolls based on hours of high demand
Diesel Emissions Control Program - testing program for heavy duty diesel
trucks
ENDZONE Partners Program - public/private partnership to encourage voluntary action to reduce emissions
Express buses - bus routes with fewer stops and Rapid Bus - even faster
bus routes on dedicated lanes
Guaranteed Ride Home - encourages ridesharing or transit use with assura
nce of a ride home for personal or family needs - HOV Lanes - highway lanes
limited to use by vehicles carrying more than one passenger
Integration of schedules - planning effort to make transfer between transit
modes more efficient
Job Access - federally funded program provides transit-dependent residen
ts with transportation to jobs not conveniently served by existing transit routes
Live Near Your Work - encourages Smart Growth by providing tax credits
to people who secure housing near their work, a joint program between employers
, state and local governments
M-TAG - electronic toll collection
Neighborhood Conservation Program - revitalizes existing neighborhoods by trans
it, pedestrian, bicycle, and roadway enhancements
Pre-tax dollars for use of transit - see Commuter Choice (state) and
Transit Discounts (federal)
Private van services - cover gaps in current transportation, e.g., Peopl
e on the Move which takes homeless persons to soup kitchens, shelters, health
or social services
Reverse Commute - federally funded program which provides transportation
to jobs for underemployed people, generally from the urban core to jobs in suburbs
Rideshare - Provides ridesharing information and assists employers to
participate in Commuter Tax Benefit program Shuttles from transit stop to desti
nation - small frequent buses to major destination (colleges, hospitals, shopping,
airports) or through neighborhoods, e.g., Hampden Shuttle Bug
SmartCard - electronic fare card for use on most MD transit systems (beg
ins general use Spring 2002)
Smart Growth - combats sprawl and promotes use of existing infrastructur
e by targeting state capital improvements
- Telecommuting or teleworking
- flexible work activities away from employer site often using telecommunicatio
ns and electronic processing of information. Used by 14% DC area and 4% Baltimore
area workers. Through executive order a goal was set of 10% of state employees
telecommuting.
Transit Discounts -TransitPlus or Metropass permit participating employe
rs/ees federal tax benefits to save up to 42% of annual commuting costs. Other
discoun ts are available for students, seniors or persons with disabilities.
Transit Oriented Development -higher density, mixed use development
around major transit station.
Transit Week - transit marketing program to thank regular riders and
encourage others to try transit
WMATA - Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, operates MetroRail and MetroBus.
TRANSPORTATION CONCURRENCE
Delegates to the 2001
LWVMD Convention decided to seek concurrence on transportation
positions originally taken by the Baltimore City/County Leagues.
Concurrence means that you accept all of the positions with no changes
in wording. Members were requested to respond, either to agree or
disagree, to the following position:
Fiscal Policy and Natural Resources --Transportation Concurrence
Action to support an integrated transportation system and mass transit
systems which are efficient, safe, clean and accessible.
Support for adequate
and equitable funding and cooperative regional programs is necessary to achieve
these goals.
Support for:
-
-Maintaining the solvency of the Transportation Trust Fund.
-
-Increasing funding for mass transit.
-
-Developing regional visions and frameworks for transportation which reflect
local concerns and which incorporate relevant LWV positions on land use, economic development, and environmental protection.
-
-Achieving and maintaining cooperative working relationships among state and
local agencies in order to achieve better planning and to decrease the use of
single occupancy vehicles.
-
-Incentives which promote use of mass transit and other alternative modes of
travel.
- -Public education
to promote transportation goals which would provide alternative travel
modes, encourage technological improvements that abate emissions from
mobile sources, reduce energy consumption and protect natural resources.
How's Your Transportation Track Record?
Either think back to last week, or keep a record of the upcoming week with
these things in mind.
How many trips did you make during the week? _______ A trip is defined as
leaving your house; e.g., to visit next door, medical appointments, exercise,
shopping, meetings, entertainment, worship.
How many trips by: Car ____ Bus ____ Metro ____ Train ____ Light rail ____
Bike ____ Walking ____
Approximately how many miles did you travel? ___________
How many miles by: Car ____ Bus ____ Metro ____ Train ____ Light rail ____
Bike ____ Walking ____
If most of your trips were by car, was transit easily accessible (within one-
fourth mile of your starting point and destination)? Yes____ No____
Did you carpool or share rides? Yes____ No____
Do you try to cluster your trips (e.g., buy groceries after a meeting)? Yes__
__ No____
Can You Do Better?
A LOOK AT
LOCAL
TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS IN MARYLAND
FALL 2002
To continue the transportation program
item adopted at the 2001 League Convention, a questionnaire was sent to local
Leagues to get a basis for comparison of locally operated transportation systems
in Maryland. Each of us thinks that other counties are organized like ours, but
such is not the case. In fact the structure of transportation in Maryland is quite
different county by county. It may be found in the Department of Public Works,
Planning and Zoning, the Office of Aging or Economic Development. The budgets
report transportation expenditures in various locations and include different
responsibilities in different counties. In some cases it is even difficult to
get consistent ridership numbers. The information reported in this briefing material
is not necessarily consistent county to county, but it nonetheless provides a
preliminary basis for evaluation.
Maryland has great diversity between counties, and the transportation possibilities
vary greatly depending on rural or urban situations, by political inclination,
by resources, and by the priority placed on public transportation.
STATE TRANSIT SERVICE
GUIDELINES
The state of Maryland offers guidelines for transit service which include:
- Security and safety
on transit vehicles, at stations and stops and park-and ride lots,
- Bus shelters which
include paved waiting areas, seating and schedule information,
- Clean, well-maintained
vehicles,
- Pedestrian/bicycle
access to transit,
- On-board technology
– “smart card” farecards and Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL)
systems,
- Span of service and
frequency of service which varies by rural, suburban and urban systems,
- Seamless, connected
service across different transit services,
- Coordination of land
use and transit,
- Easy access to transit
information,
- Creative, cost-effective
ways to serve locations not served today.
Most counties have problems in providing easy access to transit information, good
pedestrian access to services or comfortable bus stops, and in scheduling good
connections between different modes of transportation.
STATE BUDGET PROCESS
Each July, counties send their priorities for state capital improvements to the
Secretary of Transportation. The Department of Transportation formulates the six-year
Consolidated Transportation Program and presents it locally in each county at
what is informally called the DOT “Roadshow.” Local officials, the state
delegation and the administrators of the department divisions attend along with
the public. This is an excellent opportunity for League members to become acquainted
with projects planned for their area. With projected revenue shortfalls, however,
prospects for new projects are not good.
Also this Fall the Department is preparing its submission for the 2003 renewal
of the federal Transportation Equity Act which provides federal money for transportation
projects. Federal funding for six years will be determined by this legislation.
Each jurisdiction has a Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) liaison person
assigned to it. Each county also has a five-year Transit Development Plan.
The charts on the following pages present basic information on local transportation
systems. Not all information is consistent between counties as the organizations
are so different. In some cases information was not available as staff simply
did not get back to the committee member. In that case information was used from
the publication “Getting on Board, The Maryland Comprehensive Transit Plan,”
published in June 2001.
This material
was prepared by the LWVMD Transportation Committee members: Carol Filipczak, Pat
Lane, Phyl Lansing, Luella Mast, Julie Nisonger, and Kathy Pritchard.
INNOVATIVE
LOCAL TRANSPORTATION PRACTICES
Inducing teen trial in Calvert County
- instigated by League member Julie Nisonger.
In May 2002 high school students received letters with two free round-trip bus
tickets in an effort to encourage young people to use county buses. The letter
describes some places to be explored by bus, emphasizing leisure activities such
as museums, festivals, libraries and community centers. A survey on the back of
the letter, to be returned by students in September, will help the League find
ways to encourage more riders on public buses. It was sponsored by the LWVCC,
the CC Department of Transportation and the Tri-County Council for Southern Maryland.
Harford County distributes key chains at high school graduation rehearsal
which say “We know you would like a car for graduation, but there are other
ways to get around the community/to work, etc.”
Kids Ride Free in Montgomery County provides free bus service to kids
18 and under between 2pm and 7pm weekdays
Communications
Montgomery’s Celebrate Transit
The county annually honors service providers, riders and employees
at a corporate sponsored breakfast, a huge media event.
Calvert’s Smart Commuter
Local press reports on public transportation commuters as lifestyle
stories.
Howard’s One Phone Number
To get information about local bus transportation the public had to know exactly
what they wanted to know in order to know which phone number to call. The terms
fixed-route or paratransit are hardly part of the standard vernacular. Beginning
at the end of 2002 a single number will deliver schedule information to the rider
or serve as a contact for certification for paratransit use. A telephone tree
can be interrupted at any time to speak with a human being. MTA commuter routes
or MARC schedules are still a separate call.
NON-DOT INITIATIVES
UMES/Salisbury University
The University of Maryland Eastern Shore runs regular shuttles between their
campus and the Salisbury University campus, a service to students, staff and faculty
who work cooperatively between the two campuses.
DASH
After years of discussing the need for more parking facilities in
downtown Baltimore, the Downtown Partnership, which functions as the chamber of
commerce for businesses in the heart of the city, organized a downtown loop shuttle
to parking at the Ravens stadium. It operates on a 15 minute schedule and is supported
by a grant from the Maryland Transit Administration. The downtown worker part
of this successful effort continues, but the tourist component which would link
to the Walters, zoo and BMA has not attracted riders.
EQUIPMENT
Low Rider Buses
Buses built closer to the ground, eliminating wheel chair lifts and
reducing that first big step on the bus.
Automatic Vehicle Location
Howard County has installed a system which uses the Global Positioning
System to signal through electronic boards at bus shelters or public building
bus stops when the next bus will arrive. The rider doesn’t have to worry
whether the bus came early and he missed it. Emergency messages can also be displayed
Less Polluting Fuels
Low sulfur diesel is available only in the largest markets such as
New York. Fuel companies argue there is insufficient market in Maryland for the
fuel. Ten percent of Montgomery County Ride On fleet is compressed natural gas
fueled buses, but they take 24 hours to refuel.
Appropriately sized vehicles
Public transportation vehicles come in all sizes from the big urban
buses to regular sedan automobiles. The vehicle should match the size of the ridership.
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Maryland League of Women Voters
