An express bus to Tradepoint — and Baltimore County’s well-paying jobs — has arrived

For nearly a decade, the logistics jobs at Tradepoint Atlantic beckoned to eastern Baltimore County residents for the same reason they flocked to positions at the huge steel mill it replaced: They paid well, were reasonably close by and offered advancement opportunities within global companies.

But even though Tradepoint was less than 10 miles from White Marsh, Rosedale/Golden Ring and Essex, it remained tantalizingly far away for those without cars.

The bus routes took workers on a byzantine route through Baltimore City, often arriving at the logistics hub more than 90 minutes after they left. It was enough to deter those without their own cars from applying, limiting their opportunities, elected officials said.

No more. Effective Monday, the Maryland Transit Administration is launching the 411T, an express bus that picks up passengers at park-and-ride lots in White Marsh, Golden Ring and Essex and drops them off at Tradepoint in Sparrows Point. The commute should take between 25 and 30 minutes.

The bus was made possible with $2 million from the state, MTA Administrator Tony Bridges said. The agency will consider expanding the service as it collects data on how well it’s used and where else the need might be.

“I’ve seen firsthand how transportation can stand between a person, a family and a good job,” said state Sen. Carl Jackson, who once worked at the Amazon warehouse at Tradepoint, which served as the backdrop for the announcement of the bus route. “This pro-worker investment is not just about putting buses on the road. It’s about giving workers in Eastern Baltimore County a reliable way to get to a good-paying job here at Tradepoint Atlantic, and it’s about giving employers access to the workforce that they need.”

Jackson has been driving the effort to get the bus since he was appointed as senator to fill the term of Kathy Klausmeier, who became Baltimore County executive in January 2025. On board with him were Tradepoint executives as well as Baltimore County officials, who have long heard how difficult it is to reach the jobs in the county’s far-eastern corner. The logistics hub borders the Patapsco River and is close to the Chesapeake Bay.

Tradepoint Atlantic employs 15,000 people, according to Aaron Tomarchio, a Tradepoint executive vice president. About 1,000 of them work at Amazon, according to Bayly Reid, an Amazon general manager.

Tomarchio said 8,000 more jobs are coming in connection with a container ship facility being built there. The jobs range from a $20-an-hour position at Amazon to six-figure jobs for engineers, electricians and other highly skilled employees.

“If we continue with the pace that we’ve seen over the last decade, we could see 25,000 people working here,” Tomarchio said. That’s almost as many workers as Bethlehem Steel, which at its peak in the mid-20th century employed about 30,000.

The 411T bus offers 12 trips a day, beginning at 5 a.m. and ending at 12:10 a.m. to accommodate the shift work at the sprawling facility. It will operate 365 days a year. The bus is plush and comfortable and will cost $4 each way, though a monthly pass is available for $136, MTA officials said.

There are discounts for seniors and for those with disabilities. All buses are wheelchair accessible.

Jackson already knew from his days at Amazon how difficult the commutes had become for his fellow employees. But when Tomarchio showed him and his colleagues a map of where the employees lived, Jackson said he felt compelled to ramp up efforts to secure an express bus.

Jackson is hoping to procure express buses from the west side and central county to Tradepoint, but starting in his district made sense, Del. Nick Allen said.

“This site has been the economic engine of the east side for generations,” Allen said. “We all have family who either worked at Bethlehem Steel or General Motors. So it’s good to keep it alive, keep it going.”

Allen, Jackson and Del. Kim Ross, who also represents the east side of the county, said they have all been hearing from constituents that Tradepoint and its jobs are hard to reach.

Ross said she was talking to a family about the new bus service and their response was “Thank God.” The family did not include any Tradepoint employees, Ross said, but it may in the future. Now, she said, they can consider it.

“If you can’t get there, you just say, ‘That’s not for me,’” she said. “Now, those people can say, ‘Let me apply. Let me put that in my plans now.’ So, it just allows you to dream a little bigger.”