The state’s proposed transit budget reveals pain for Baltimore while D.C. suburbs gain

Baltimore’s public transit network isn’t expanding anytime soon.

And at a state budget hearing Wednesday morning inside City Hall, it was clear that years of Baltimore leaders’ polite advocacy for more dollars is turning into righteous indignation.

“At some point, shame has to enter the building, and right now, I don’t believe anyone is sufficiently ashamed of what we offer Baltimore residents for transit,” said Del. Stephanie Smith, a Democrat who represents Baltimore in the General Assembly.

The Maryland Department of Transportation released its draft Consolidated Transportation Program earlier this month. Each fall, officials pitch the draft to local leaders across the state to seek feedback before ultimately folding a finalized version into the budget passed by the General Assembly the following spring.

The new draft is the fourth proposed by Gov. Wes Moore, who took office in 2023 armed with bullish slogans on Baltimore and a campaign promise to revive Charm City’s east-west Red Line light rail project, which his predecessor scuttled.

Though the plan calls for about $1 billion over six years to begin overhauling the city’s existing light rail and complete the replacement of the city’s subway trains, it doesn’t fund construction of the two biggest projects envisioned for Baltimore: a brand new, 14-mile Red Line connecting east and west Baltimore and an expanded bus network known as the BMORE Bus plan.

All the while, the Maryland suburbs around Washington, D.C., are projected to see a boost in capital spending for the MARC commuter rail and the 14-mile Purple Line, a light rail project connecting parts of Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties.

On Friday, Maryland Transportation Secretary Katie Thomson told the Baltimore Regional Transit Commission that the department acknowledged that Baltimore transit “has not historically received what it is due.” She described “difficult choices to prioritize must-fund needs” as a choking fiscal climate has sent many costs skyrocketing, limiting which new projects the department can begin.

MDOT officials told the commission that this year’s plan included $249 million less for Baltimore than last year’s. The Central Maryland Transportation Alliance, a research and advocacy nonprofit, ran its own calculations and determined that the number was higher, at $363 million.

By Wednesday, MDOT reran its numbers, with Thomson telling City Hall that Baltimore was actually getting a $31 million increase.

No matter the math, Baltimore City Council members and state delegates implored MDOT to reconsider its funding to benefit more of Baltimore’s priorities, decrying what they saw as an imbalance compared with the D.C. suburbs.

“My constituents continue to ask me, ‘Delegate, when will it be Baltimore’s time?’” said Del. Regina Boyce, another member of Baltimore’s delegation in Annapolis.

“We cannot keep telling one part of the state that they’re too big to fail while telling others that we are too small to succeed,” Boyce said.

Del. Mark Edelson, a Baltimore Democrat, expressed concern that Annapolis recently increased fees and other costs on Marylanders to raise about $700 million in new transportation revenues without any major benefit for Baltimore.

The Purple Line accounts for roughly 30% of the Maryland Transit Administration’s entire capital budget over the next six years. Meanwhile, the MTA seems poised to scale back the proposal for the Red Line into a rapid bus line, and has yet to allocate any money to actually build it.

In a spirited rally outside of City Hall earlier that morning, about three dozen students joined other members of the community, the mayor and City Council President Zeke Cohen to protest the lack of significant funding to improve Baltimore’s transit network, which many city students rely on to get to school.

State Sen. Cory McCray recalled the morning of the first day of school back in August when his son called to tell him his MTA bus hadn’t arrived at the stop. McCray instead drove him to school, a “luxury” he acknowledged that many across the city cannot afford.

There was also concern from the for-profit sector. Jennifer Vey, a vice president and strategy officer at the Greater Baltimore Committee, said the business community is “deeply disappointed” by the draft budget. Baltimore won’t be able to compete with peer cities to attract new firms and major events without expanding transit.

“Without major investment, our ambitions for growth will be curtailed,” she said.

Reporter Liz Bowie contributed to this story.