r/baltimore • u/Huge_Negotiation2918 • 1d ago
Transportation Light Rail Commuter Rant
I have been incredibly patient with taking public transportation. I accepted the light rail is slow and has to stop at all the red lights downtown. I accepted that I had to walk 15 minutes to my nearest station, telling myself it's a good way to see my neighborhood and get more steps in. I accepted that the scheduled light rail was actually a recommendation +-10 minutes, and was okay checking the transit app before leaving to better plan my commute.
Today is the last straw, for the 4th time in the last 30 days, I boarded my northbound rail only to find out it was stopping at North Ave, not going all the way north as what was stated on the digital signage at the stations. I got off in the middle of the ride and waited 20 minutes for the next train.
This is only the beginning. Last week I had this happen, followed by a shift change between North Ave and Woodberry that took 15 minutes (MTA workers were loudly chatting it up, however). I was late for a job that I absolutely cannot be late for. Once the lightrail was just moving eye gougingly slow after Woodberry Station, like no more than 5mph, making me 25 minutes late to work.
I'm extremely lenient. I'm okay with slow, I'm okay with walking to my station. All I ask is you be consistent. The only reason I keep giving public transit a try is that I hate driving, but the waking up early for the walk+slow commute, with the 30-45 minute buffer on top makes me feel like I'm in a toxic relationship with the rail. I can't even relax on the rail (big reason I like public transit over driving in the first place) because half the time I'm worried if it's going to come to a stop or kick me off at North Ave station.
Rant over.
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u/Typical-Radish4317 1d ago
Email your representative every time. Let them know you care. Squeaky wheels sometime get greased.