Founded | July 1, 2014 | ||
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Commenced operation | July 1, 2014 | ||
Locale | 8510 Corridor Road, Suite 110, Savage, Maryland 20763 | ||
Service area | Anne Arundel, Howard County, City of Laurel and Northern Prince George's County | ||
Service type | Transit bus | ||
Routes | 15 total routes | ||
Fleet | 51 Fixed route buses, 28 Paratransit vehicles | ||
Annual ridership | 1.8 million (fixed route) | ||
Fuel type | diesel, gas and electric | ||
Operator | First Transit | ||
General Manager | Mark Pritchard | ||
Website | http://www.transitRTA.com | ||
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Regional Transportation Agency of Central Maryland, locally referred to as the RTA, is a transit organization developed to establish a more effective and efficient public transportation system across Central Maryland. The RTA is made up of multiple jurisdictions including Anne Arundel County, Howard County, City of Laurel and Northern Prince George's County. The RTA combined the management and administrative functions of multiple transit operations, reducing operating costs by over 10%, and provided a better customer service experience by improving connections across Central Maryland. The Commission allows all of the participating jurisdictions the ability to oversee transit management operations.
In 2014, Howard County initiated the Regional Transit Agency of Central Maryland, recruiting Anne Arundel County to join ares served by Central Maryland Regional Transit claiming the centralized authority initiated, managed and funded through Howard County would save money in contract expenses. CMRT bid on providing services to these regions after July 1, but lost to First Transit.
In 2014, Howard County broke ground on a $7.2 million bus terminal at Savage, Maryland designed to house 120 buses.
As of 2015 the system includes 15 bus routes traveling through Howard County, Anne Arundel County, Prince George's County, and the city of Laurel.
RTA has a number of transit hubs where numerous bus lines meet. They include:
Bus fare can be purchased on the bus, at certain library branches, senior centers, and online.