Have thoughts about Baltimore-area transit? The MTA wants input on its plans for the next 25 years.

The Maryland Transit Administration is holding a series of open houses later this month to ask the public how they think the next 25 years of transit should look for the Baltimore region.

Riders already have requested better connectivity, more frequent and reliable service, additional bus stop amenities such as shelters and benches, and improved customer service, among other wants. The feedback will be incorporated into the Central Maryland Regional Transit Plan, which will define the MTA’s future goals for buses, trains, light rail and the metro subway.

“We’re developing a 25-year plan to serve the needs of the core service area,” which includes the city, as well as Baltimore, Anne Arundel, Harford and Howard counties, said Holly Arnold, the MTA’s deputy administrator and chief planning, programming, and engineering officer.

The plan, mandated by the state legislature, lays out 29 new “regional transit corridors" that have high transit ridership, connect to job centers and other places people want to go, and have demand for additional investment and all-day service.

Democrat Del. Brooke Lierman, who led the legislative push to require the MTA to create the plan, noting the administration expects a regional population increase of 300,000 people by 2045, said the plan is about “building a transit system that allows for fewer cars on the road.”

“Our roads will not be able to sustain it,” said Lierman, adding that transit is also environmentally friendly. “We cannot rely on single-occupancy vehicles to get every employee to their job. Many employees can’t afford cars or don’t want to drive.”

Don Fry, president and CEO of the Greater Baltimore Committee, said business leaders want “a plan that’s bold but has an attainable vision that can be implemented.”

“Since the Red Line was canceled back in 2015, there really has not been any major transit initiative in the Baltimore region," said Fry, referring to the planned and federally funded east-west light rail line that Republican Gov. Larry Hogan called a “boondoggle” and canceled.

BaltimoreLink, the MTA’s recent overhaul of the region’s bus routes, “does not spur any major economic development or meaningfully improve access to jobs for residents," Fry said.

And he and other transit advocates are worried about future investment.

The MTA faces a $2 billion shortfall for capital projects over the next decade, and the latest six-year capital budget for transit is 10% smaller than current spending levels, according to the agency’s own data. Transportation Secretary Pete Rahn has attributed it to the completion of current capital projects.

“We need to make sure we start changing the transit investment in the Baltimore area,” Fry said. “This is an opportunity for business leaders, the public, transit advocates and others to really try to have an impact on what that plan is going to look like.”

The MTA meetings will take place at the following places and times:

The 29 proposed transit corridors being considered by the MTA for the regional transit plan are: