r/baltimore

I’m probably going to be downvoted to hell for this, but frankly, I’m tired of the multiple posts each week complaining about the transit system here. Could it be better? Sure. Could it be worse? Absolutely.

First, people need to stop comparing it to larger cities. Baltimore is not DC, Boston, NYC, etc. (and thank god for that.). It’s not going to have an extensive system like those cities. Do I wish it did? Of course. But I’m realistic. Its population, in addition to politics, will never allow for it.

I’m a flight attendant and have used transit systems all over this country, and Baltimore’s is damn good compared to 99% of the U.S. It’s way better than Marta in Atlanta (which people like to hold up as an example of “better.”)

As a mid-50’s female who has been without a car for almost a year, for me, Baltimore has a robust enough system that I’ll never buy another car. Are there ghost buses and cancellations? Sometimes. When I owned a car, did it break down? Occasionally. No mode of transportation is perfect. Are there areas of the city that are less reliable? Undoubtedly, and that’s not acceptable.

Ultimately, public transportation is way cheaper to use than owning a car, and someone else can deal with the traffic and drivers.

I can get all over the city for $2.00 and I can get a day pass for $4.60. Heck, I can get to Costco in Owings Mills for $2.00. Plus, I have my bike, Lime scooters, Ubers, Zipcar, etc. That day pass in Atlanta will set you back $9 and a single ride is $2.50. NYC? $3.00, no day pass. Pittsburgh? $2.75 and $7 for a day pass.

So go ahead and keep complaining about it. But realistically, it’s pretty good. I suspect there are quite a few people that share my opinion, despite the complaining posts that are always on here.

Vent over.

I'm aware I'm not the first person to post about this, but it's genuinely insane how unreliable the MTA is. I have had decent luck with my line out in the county, the 76 (though I've definitely gotten stranded by it [systems seems to go to crap on game days for some reason]), but the 32, 37, CityLink Red, and Purple Circulator have stranded me several times, and every time, the bus is not marked as cancelled and there's no alerts in the app, it's just a complete no-show. I can put up with slow, I can put up with a few minutes late, I can put up with the crappy ass headways the MTA runs, but the non-tracking and no-show buses are a genuine problem. The circulator is no better and there's no trust because the circulator has very unreliable tracking. Just sucks, especially in this hot ass weather. The Light Rail and Metro have much of the same problems too fwiw.

I really hope the fifth bus division helps but I believe the MTA has a serious dispatching problem, seeing as it seems to not know where its busses are or whether they're running. I've also heard inklings of a staffing problem and a very flimsy NCNS policy, so, that doesn't help. A medium-large city like Baltimore should have good headways on trunk routes like the Red (even on weekends), and a system that people can trust when Google Maps or the transit app says a bus will show. This has genuinely been forcing me to evaluate getting a better ebike or at least an extra battery (I can't make it crosstown and back on a charge), which is money I don't really got.

Edit: Part of my reasoning for suggesting the MTA has a dispatching problem is the sheer amount of bunching I see on buses as well as the amount of times I've seen buses leave terminals (like Patapsco LR) atrociously late (there little displays show they're late but they sometimes try to make up time). I also know in at least one instance, the bus is delayed frequently due to the driver whom operates that route, not receiving an appropriate amount of time for a bathroom break given her injury and the distance from the stop to the restroom.

hi! Craving some good dine-in indian food recently, and would love to bring my non-Indian friends as well. What are some good places near johns hopkins university? thanks! preferably would have a lot of vegetarian options as well.

Seawall (the company that built R house) has been having ”community conversations” about their future development at 2801 Falls Road. The property is right next to the 28st bridge, and is currently a heavy equipment storage yard. It looks like a good project to me, and they’ve been cooperating with local institutions such as blue water Baltimore and their neighbors, the streetcar museum. I just want to know: what do we think?

Hi everyone. I (25F) would like to prioritize meeting people in person rather than on dating apps. I wanted to crowdsource to find events other than typical speed dating and happy hours. Also, I’m looking for suggestions other than going to bars and clubs since neither is my scene. I’m interested in both men and women in their mid to late 20s through early 30s. Thanks in advance for suggestions!

Hey! I recently went through some old cassettes I had recorded from radio broadcasts. I found this acoustic version of SR71's Right Now that they performed in one of their local, Baltimore-area radio stations, 99.1 WHFS.

Every Thanksgiving, this station would do a huge playlist of acoustic-only music. Some of the choices were from MTV Unplugged sets, while others were specifically recorded at WHFS when touring bands were coming through.

Enjoy!

Hello, I am a Baltimore County substitute teacher in a really tough position. I struggle to make ends meet during the school year so it's far from ideal to be out of work during the summer. Do any fellow Baltimore County substitutes have any suggestions for a part time job? I would really appreciate any suggestions as I'm really scrambling to find something before the end of the month. I have experience tutoring and teaching english and reading.

I’m moving to Baltimore in August from New York. I’m into movies and going to theaters to watch arthouse, foreign, and revival film series. I am familiar with The Senator and Charles Theatre but I was wondering if there are anymore theaters that I should check out for?

Hey all! I live in Druid Heights and usually spend my Sundays in Fells sitting on a bench and staring out at the water. It's my only day off and I use it to kinda reset my brain from the previous week/get ready for the next. However with the heat and impending storm I wanna spend it inside somewhere with air conditioning lol.

Are there any coffee shops/places that I can sit inside next to a window for a few hours that overlooks the water in Fells? I'll obviously patronize whatever place it is but would rather it not be a full blown restaurant if I can avoid it as I plan on spending a few hours there.

Happy 4th weekend to y'all hope it's going great.

So not only does the power go out all across the county, but since it’s past 7pm they’re seemingly not sending anybody to fix it until tomorrow? This is bs at its finest. And then they have the nerve to send out an “update” with info that we already know and basically just shrugging in our faces. They lucky the call line is closed because frankly I got a long complaint I wanna make on this whole situation. It’s 1am, I’m stuck in the dark, and I’m frustrated. BGE do better ts is joke. 🤦🏾‍♂️🤦🏾‍♂️

edit: So I decided to go deeper on this topic and found out BGE RAISED THEIR PRICES a few days ago??? What do you mean they’re making people pay more for this mediocre ass service? I’m so mad rn it’s not even funny man this might be the worst electricity service of all time.

Near the emergency entrance. Avoid the area (Calvert & 33rd)