Many of Maryland’s public transit options are now more accessible, especially to kids and students, under new policy changes.
The Maryland Transit Administration announced updates to its fare policy Thursday, which went into effect Sunday for local buses, the light rail, the Metro SubwayLink and the Mobility and Call-a-Ride programs, which both serve people with disabilities.
Changes include:
- Children 12 and under may use public transit for free. Before Sunday, free rides were only offered to those 6 years old and under.
- Baltimore City Public Schools students can use their student passes at any time.
- Private school students are now included in the All Access Student Transit Pass, a discounted public transit package previously only available to those enrolled in local colleges and universities.
- The transfer window for users of the CharmPass mobile ticketing app has been expanded from 90 to 120 minutes.
- A $5 surcharge takes effect for light rail riders without a ticket during fare inspection who subsequently purchase one via CharmPass.
- Single-use, prepaid student tickets will be eliminated.
- Maryland Transit Administration tokens will be offered to schools at $15 for a 10-pack. Deposited in fareboxes, one token can be used for a single trip; two can be used for a day pass, according to the transit administration’s updated fare tariff.
- Schools and some nonprofits may now request complimentary tickets under limited circumstances.
- A low-income fare program is being introduced.
The changes were made after a 30-day public comment period following public hearings that the administration held in mid-June.
Barbara Weathers, 65, lives in West Baltimore and uses public buses as her main form of transportation. She said the bus service in Baltimore is good but that she’s concerned about an increased number of children and students on public transportation with the new policy changes.
Weathers said BCPS students crowd the buses before and after school and are often disrespectful to other city residents. She added that she’d love to see these students have their own bus or for older people like herself to have their own separate transportation in and around the city.
Thirty-four-year-old Alexander Harden, who lives in Cherry Hill and works as a bouncer at a local restaurant and bar, said the bus service is “amazing” in Baltimore. He said he hopes to see upgrades to the buses and more SubwayLink options in the future but is generally satisfied with the public transit opportunities Baltimore has now.
“I’ve been basically catching the bus my whole life,” he said on the bus Sunday. “I’ve never had any issues.”
Harden said he thinks it’s a good start for the transit administration to be helping out some of the community with these policy updates but that there’s more work to be done “all around.” He said lowering fares for college and high school students creates great opportunities for them.
“Increasing transit access benefits riders and is critical to the economic prosperity of our entire region,” Maryland Transit Administrator Holly Arnold said in a news release. “These changes are another example of our efforts to support the next generation of transit riders.”
These changes are part of the transit administration’s fall 2025 annual service plan, which aims to increase access and equity and improve reliability and travel times. Three service change plans take place each year in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement between bus operators union Local 1300, with the next service change to take place this winter.
“MTA is constantly monitoring reliability, traffic congestion, and ridership,” the service plan states, “and will continue to make minor adjustments to service to adjust for continually changing ridership and traffic conditions.”
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