Changes to M Route Bus Schedule Likely

Operators of the “M Route” shuttle service between Piney Orchard and the Odenton MARC station said they will probably make changes to the bus' schedule, after commuters said they found current pick-up and drop-off times to be inconvenient.

Residents told officials that they frequently must wait more than a half-hour at for the bus to take them home in the evening, and that the bus service does not appear to match the schedule of MARC trains pulling into Odenton.

Anne Arundel County planners and officials from Central Maryland Regional Transit, acknowledged that the service was still operating on a schedule that did not make sense, given recent changes to service for MARC train.

About a half-dozen residents met with county planners and CMRT officials at Piney Orchard Elementary School Wednesday to discuss ways the M Route service could be improved.

“I’ve never been able to figure out a way to piece it to make it work,” said Fred Gentile, a Piney Orchard resident who commutes by MARC train into Washington.

The bus, which went into service six months ago, is designed to serve Piney Orchard residents who ride MARC train for rush hour commutes into Washington, D.C. or Baltimore. The bus costs $1 per ride, and makes 16 stops.

George Cardwell, the county’s transportation planning administrator, acknowledged that operators only recently learned of changes to the MARC train schedule that increased the number of rush hour trains.

“It is matched to the old schedule, there is no doubt about that,” Cardwell said. “We need to go back and look at our schedule and see how it meshes.”

In addition to examining changes to the schedule, officials said they would look at other improvements, including:

• Allowing drivers to complete the route more quickly, by reducing idling time at certain stops
• Giving drivers the ability to wait for MARC trains that are running a few minutes late.
• Partnering with a company to build a dedicated enclosure for bus riders at the MARC lot.

Despite the hiccups, Cardwell said there are about 160 riders per week on the bus, which is in line with what the county predicted the service would have by now. Maynard Nash, CMRT’s director of operations, said the M Route was an “exceptionally good, strong service.”