Baltimore Skyline

(photo credit, http://www.yournameyourride.com/ ) It's the summer now, some may even call this the "late summer". It is around this time that Baltimore is supposed to roll out the brand spanking new Charm City Circulator , but where is this free bus service. The one thing I've learned about Baltimore is that press releases, news updates, and service reminders come few and far between in this town. It's mid-August. We got the new name back in June, but no official route map, no official stops, nor schedule. I haven't seen any signs around the downtown area. I live down here now, I haven't seen anything. How do you expect anyone to use this services if it's not being advertised? There were rumors floating back earlier this summer that dedicated bus lanes were going to be painted on Lombard and Pratt Street for not only this service, but the MTA buses that use the same roads, but it doesn't look like that has happened yet. Seems like this thing will ...

(image credit, www.ci.baltimore.md.us ) the Charm City Circulator. The new name was revealed yesterday, along with one of the new buses, at City Hall. 18 of these buses, which are clean-energy hybrids, will be on the road later this summer. The free shuttle will operate on three routes around downtown. One will go between City Hall and Johns Hopkins Hospital, the second will go from UMB to Harbor East, and the third will go from Penn Station to Cross Street Market. For all of you that remember DASH, this is a huge improvement over that original service that died when the funding went dry a few years back. The Charm City Circulator will be funded through the increase in the downtown parking tax. The hope is this shuttle will be appealing to not only tourists, but commuters, students, and residents, who need to get around the downtown area. Now, Fells Point residents can easily get downtown, UMB students can get to the Harbor, commuters coming into Penn Station can access the Charles Str...