Regional Transportation Agency Of Central Maryland Celebrates 1M Riders In 1 Year

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — The county’s local transit service provider, the Regional Transportation Agency of Central Maryland, has reached a milestone that officials celebrated Thursday. The RTA has made one million passenger trips within a single fiscal year marking the first time in its 10-year history to achieve this record level of ridership.

“As your Howard County executive, we are thrilled that our investments in public transportation during the last six and a half years have expanded access. From launching new routes to rolling out digital ticketing and routing software, we have worked collaboratively with RTA to enhance the rider experience and grow our neighborhood connections,” said Howard County Executive Calvin Ball at a news conference. “Our investments are paying off, as RTA ridership has dramatically rebounded since the COVID-19 pandemic and exceeded pre-pandemic levels. As we celebrate this remarkable milestone of one million trips on RTA in just the last year, we are committed to continue enhancing and strengthening our public transportation services in the years ahead.”

To mark this milestone achievement, Howard County’s Office of Transportation, RTA and regional partners teamed up to launch a “Ride to 1 Million” campaign.

This campaign is designed to thank RTA customers by offering eight fare-free days and five pop-up events over a four-month period:
· Feb. 5 – National Transit Equity Day (Rosa Parks’ Birthday)
· Feb. 14 – Valentine’s Day; included a pop-up event at The Mall in Columbia
· March 17 – St. Patrick’s Day; included a pop-event at The Mall in Columbia
· March 18 – National Transit Employee Appreciation Day
· April 22 – Earth Day; included a pop-event at The Mall in Columbia
· April 25 – Get on Board Day
· May 16 – Bike to Work Day; included a pop-event at The Mall in Columbia
· June 18 – 1 Millionth Trip Day; included a pop-event at The Mall in Columbia

“Serving our residents and getting them where they need to go is key to both growing and maintaining our ridership,” said Clarence Dickerson III, administrator, Office of Transportation. “Reaching one million trips in one fiscal year is something we are proud to have accomplished and sharing that excitement with our riders is the best way to celebrate this achievement.”

RTA was launched in 2014 as a consortium of regional partners to streamline locally operated transit services in central Maryland, initially serving Howard County, northern Anne Arundel and Prince George’s Counties and the city of Laurel. In 2023, RTA service was extended into Baltimore County via Route 505 service to Catonsville.