Charm City Circulator routes, ridership and revenue to get reviewed

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Nicholas Griner

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Rick Seltzer

Staff reporter- Baltimore Business Journal

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Baltimore's Charm City Circulator bus network is under review.

The city's Board of Estimates on Wednesday approved spending $130,141.32 to examine the popular free bus service. The review will look at operations, revenue and operating costs. It's also slated for contract evaluation and "long-term financial operations alternatives," according to board documents.

The review comes less than a month after City Council President Bernard C. "Jack" Young introduced legislation calling for an investigative hearing into the circulator. Young's legislation said charging circulator riders $1 per trip should be on the table.

But the review approved Wednesday is not a direct result of Young's legislation, according to both the councilman's office and the city's department of transportation. It's a study that's been discussed since the summer, said Kathy Dominick, a Department of Transportation spokesperson.

It will focus on existing circulator routes, stop locations, ridership, revenue sources and route extensions, she said. The department of transportation did not release any further details on the study, saying it is ongoing.

While the review approved Wednesday might not be explicitly linked to Young's legislation, it is part of the same conversation about the future of the circulator, said Lester Davis, spokesman for Young's office. It's a conversation that will continue as the circulator's current operating contract expires at the end of the year and officials continue to bat around the idea of extending its Purple route northward.

"Everybody agrees it's a great service," Davis said. "But if we continue to kind of mull over the idea of expansion, we need to have a thoughtful conversation about what that means to the system."