Time is money when waiting for the bus

By Connor Meek

Sep 30, 2015 11:22 AM

Many Baltimore citizens enjoy a long jog early each morning. I am not one of them. But the other day I jogged nearly four miles to work, and I am quite upset about it — as was my boss when I walked in the door and told him I needed to take my break.

As my bicycle is temporarily out of service, I was forced to join the thousands of people who rely on public transit to get to work on time. Over the years I've learned to hedge my bets: Instead of standing at the bus stop, I walk down the bus line toward my destination.

I left my home at 5:43 a.m. and began to walk east on Frederick Avenue toward downtown, along the route of the number 10 bus and the number 46. By now I've lost faith in the MTA timetable and no longer consult it. By 5:55 a.m., I had already begun to jog, and there was still no sign of either bus, so I was forced to pick up the pace. A few moments later, still along the route of the number 10, I reached West Baltimore Street and joined the route of the 20 as well.

There were more people at each bus stop I passed. Some looked at their phones, some yawned, some stood in the middle of the street staring off in the direction from which the bus might eventually come, like loyal dogs waiting in the driveway for their owners. Some swore, or told jokes about the Maryland Transit Authority.

As I came closer to downtown I began to hear rumblings about another common occurrence — buses blowing by the stops because they're already packed beyond maximum capacity. That's what happens when you seemingly operate one bus for every three on the schedule.

I arrived at work four minutes early, and sweaty, at 6:26 a.m.

What will happen to you today? A smooth workday, or complete chaos? You don't know. But I think most would agree that the morning is the most predictable time of day. There is no traffic at 5:45 a.m. By the afternoon, numerous surprises and unexpected setbacks may have legitimately set you behind schedule, but if you are late to an early morning meeting, there is usually no one to blame but yourself.

The MTA timetable leads me to believe that at least four buses should have passed me during my jog to work: two 10s, a 46 and a 20. The only bus I saw was "Not in Service," at Baltimore and MLK. My overall experience with the light rail has been positive, but the MTA fails miserably in complying with its own timetable where the local buses are concerned.

I see plenty of advertisements that the Maryland Transit Authority is hiring immediately. If the MTA doesn't have the employees to operate according to schedule, they need to change the schedule. Our jobs are on the line. And we need jobs. And considering the current payroll fiasco with Baltimore City Public Schools, I am not at all surprised to see any government entity posting "help wanted" ads. No thanks.

I am lucky. I'm still young and in good health. Many of the now-tardy workers I passed this morning were likely not capable of jogging to work. The Maryland Transit Authority is the only option they have.

Every politician — past, present, probably future — touts reducing unemployment as one of their primary objectives. There are easier and more fundamental ways to improve our economy than tax schemes and development projects: Keep your schedule so we can keep ours, be reliable, make it easy for us to get to work.

I barely feel the need to name the detrimental effects of unreliable public transportation, but I will: lost jobs, missed interviews, increased reliance on social services, buses packed dangerously beyond capacity, legitimate anger over a seemingly insignificant 10-cent fare increase, and an even greater distrust in basically everything the city of Baltimore and the state of Maryland tells us.

I ride the bus into town occasionally, at various times of day, but never do I see bus stops more crowded than they are at 6:15 in the morning. If the Maryland Transit Authority doesn't have the resources to stay on schedule, they need to change the schedule, and also focus what they have on the times when we need them most. I can get home late from work without losing my job.