The Maryland Transit Administration said Tuesday it will launch two bus lines, including one with a stop at the upcoming Amazon Distribution Center on Broening Highway, to transport commuters to new job opportunities in Baltimore City.
MTA said in a press release that enhancements to existing service are also planned as part of its Bus Network Improvement Project. The changes are slated to begin Feb. 22, officials said.
Amazon has said it is opening a one million-square-foot distribution center employing 1,000 people at the site of the former General Motors plant on Broening Highway in Southeast Baltimore. The distribution center is expected to open at the end of March, officials said.
MTA will launch the No. 26 Line, which will travel from Fayette and Charles streets downtown to the Dundalk Marine Terminal with a stop at the Amazon Distribution Center.
Also slated is the No. 31 Line, which will travel from the State Center Metro to the Community College of Baltimore County in Dundalk with a stop at the Shops at Canton Crossing, which opened two years ago.
"These changes are a key step to creating a bus system our customers can rely on and a network that provides more connections to employment and recreational centers in the region," said MTA Administrator Robert Smith in the press release. "Bringing needed changes to our bus system is a major step toward improving our local and regional transportation model as a whole."
In addition, MTA said that the existing No. 20 Line (Security Mall, Edmondson Village, Dundalk Marine Terminal) will be segmented into three lines, with some service transferred to the new No. 26 and No. 31 lines.