bus service top left quickbus top right local bottom left commuter bottom right express slogan think green . ride mta parent maryland transit administration founded april 30 1970 headquarters baltimore maryland locale baltimore washington metropolitan area service area baltimore washington metropolitan area service type local quickbus shuttle bug express commuter icc routes local 46 quickbus 4 shuttle bug 2 express 4 commuter 19 icc 5 total 80 hubs 70 baltimore area fleet urban bus 774 motor coach bus 68 total 842 daily ridership 250 000 estimated fuel type diesel diesel electric hybrid operator mdot website www.mtamaryland.com the maryland transit administration provides the primary public bus service for the baltimore metropolitan area and commuter bus service in other parts of the state of maryland . there are currently 80 bus routes which include 46 local routes 2 neighborhood shuttle routes 4 limited stop routes known as quickbus 5 express bus routes which operate from various suburbs to downtown baltimore 19 commuter bus routes and 5 intercounty connector or icc routes which operate from various locations mainly in central maryland to washington d.c. or various metrorail stations . the local and commuter bus routes operate in conjunction with one subway line three light rail lines marc train service and various connections to other transit agencies . 1 2 contents 1 operation 1.1 local buses 1.2 express commuter and intercounty connector buses 1.3 neighborhood shuttle bug 1.4 quickbus 2 current bus routes 3 fares 4 fleet roster 4.1 current fleet roster 4.2 notes 4.3 bus fleet notes 4.4 retired fleet roster 4.5 hybrid vehicles 2008 2014 4.6 bus yards 5 references 6 external links operation edit the mta s bus service operates throughout the baltimore washington metropolitan area and other parts of the state . these include local routes 1 through 98 ; neighborhood shuttle routes 97 and 98 ; quickbus routes qb40 qb46 qb47 and qb48 ; express routes102 103 104 105 106 107 110 115 119 120 150 and 160 ; 1 intercounty connector routes 201 through 205 ; commuter bus routes 310 through 995 . 2 local buses edit local bus lines are identified with a one or two digit number . many of the numerical designations have origins dating back to the days of the baltimore streetcars and share the route numbers of the respective streetcars that operated along the same streets . most local buses operate regular service seven days a week throughout most hours of the day and evening . some routes operate 24 hours . a small number of routes operate without evening service on weekdays only during peak hours only or only at the times needed for certain employers . 3 until 2009 a series of routes operated in the northwest part of the city and suburbs known as metro connection buses . these routes had designations of the letter m followed by a number and operated from a metro station to a specified location or between two metro stations . when the metro connection bus service began in 1984 it used designations beginning with the letter m mondawmin r rogers avenue or p plaza followed by a number . after the metro was extended to owings mills in 1987 only the letter m was used and it denoted metro . since 1988 the number of m lines had declined as many of them were consolidated and some were completely eliminated . after the first phase of the greater baltimore bus initiative took effect in 2005 only seven m lines remained though this increased to eight after route m 6 was restored months later . throughout 2008 and 2009 all m lines were renamed to plain two digit numerical designations ranging from 52 to 54 and 56 to 60 . during this series of revisions route changes were also made to some of them including merging some splitting others and completely eliminating part of route m 17 without any replacement . 4 5 express commuter and intercounty connector buses edit the mta s express routes should not be confused with the express trips assigned to several of the local bus routes . express routes are dedicated to providing rapid service by limiting the number of stops along the route . the number of express routes has declined over the past two decades as new rapid transit services have been constructed and poor performing routes were eliminated or consolidated . unlike the commuter buses express bus routes serve areas where local buses are available . comparable slower trips can also be accomplished with local buses . 6 commuter routes however provide service between locations not connected by local bus routes . 2 both the express and commuter routes identified with 3 digit numbers offer limited service mostly during weekday rush hour between downtown baltimore or washington and various park and ride lots or other suburban locations in the state of maryland . the commuter routes designated with higher numbers are operated by contractors rather than mta employees . 2 the newest addition to the commuter bus service since 2010 . known as intercounty connector or icc for short service operates from gaithersburg to bwi marshall airport university of maryland college park or dod fort meade traveling along the newly built intercounty connector expressway in central maryland . neighborhood shuttle bug edit two of the local routes mta operates are considered neighborhood shuttles also known as shuttle bugs . theses local routes focus on a specific neighborhood and the transportation of persons within these communities . during the early 2000s mta introduced two such routes . these routes rather than operating like others around town have differences that include reduced fare for a single ride 1.00 rather than the 1.60 charged on regular buses . mta unlimited ride passes also known as go passes also cover the fare . 7 in 2006 three shorter distinctively painted buses 30 foot opus buses were purchased and are used exclusively by the mondawmin shuttle . 8 the opus buses are the only non 40 and 60 foot buses in mta s fleet ; held at northwest 4 garage . in mid 2011 mta retired the three 30 foot opus buses due to reliability issues . schedules are printed in full color rather than the monochrome design of most printed schedules in order to attract more riders . citation needed bus stop signs have unique identifications different from usual bus stops . the hampden shuttle is identified by a ladybug and the mondawmin shuttle uses the grasshopper symbol . 9 the hampden shuttle bug was the first of seven shuttle routes originally planned for baltimore and its suburbs . only the hampden and mondawmin routes were implemented ; no timetable was ever set for other neighborhood shuttle routes . 10 a proposed shuttle bug route between randallstown and the owings mills metro subway station was fought by residents along the route the shuttle would take . objections included that the service would operate on quiet residential streets not accustomed to bus traffic and area residents did not need the service . 11 in 2005 and 2006 in various phases of the greater baltimore bus initiative mta proposed various changes to these routes which included routing changes and threats to eliminate route 98 completely and reduce service on route 97 to once an hour . 12 the only change that was actually made was a shift on route 98 in 2008 to replace service on roland avenue that was lost through a change to route 27 . 13 quickbus edit in 2005 mta introduced a new form of express transit known as rapid bus service . the first of these services was designated route 40 . the line operates every 10 15 minutes from the western to the eastern suburbs of baltimore through the downtown area serving various communities in west and east baltimore . stops are limited to major intersections transfer points and points of interest . unlike other express buses local fares are applicable on route 40 . route 40 was later named quickbus . 14 in 2009 a new quickbus route was introduced . designated as quickbus 48 it operates along the same route as route 8 minus the section north of towson town center . 4 introduction of another quickbus service that would operate along the route route 3 and would have carry the designation route 43 but this proposal was delayed . 15 two more quickbus routes began service on august 30 2010 . quickbus 46 operates alongside routes 5 and 10 from paradise avenue loop to cedonia loop . quickbus 47 travel along the route 15 from walbrook junction to overlea loop . both buses operate on weekdays at peak hours only . 16 current bus routes edit further information list of mta maryland bus routes fares edit see current mta fares fleet roster edit current fleet roster edit image builder model length ft m order year fuel propulsion powertrain engine transmission fleet series quantity notes nabi 416.10 40 ft 12 m 1998 diesel cummins m 11e allison b400r 6 9801 9865 65 retired series . nabi 416.10 40 ft 12 m 1999 diesel cummins m 11e allison b400r 6 9901 9967 67 last fleet ordered under the then named mass transit administration remainder of the fleet retired as of september 1 2016 nabi 416.10 40 ft 12 m 2000 diesel cummins m 11e caterpillar c9 allison b400r 6 0001 0080 80 first fleet ordered under the new name maryland transit administration 0032 used as a caterpillar c9 engine test model 0074 retrofitted as american seating demo remainder of the fleet retired as of september 1 2016 mci d4500 45 ft 14 m 2002 diesel detroit diesel series 60 allison b500 6 119c 144c 26 first motor coach buses in fleet replaced 90 series flxible metro b suburban commuter bus service used on commuter bus service operate under private contractors neoplan usa an440lf 40 ft 12 m 2002 diesel detroit diesel series 50 cummins isl11 .9 isl 9 allison b400r 6 0200 0299 100 first neoplan order since 1986 first low floor buses in fleet more than half of the units have been retrofitted with cummins isl engines headsigns currently being reset to white led chroma iv 0295 is a demo of the neoplan mid life overhaul nfi d40lf 40 ft 12 m 2004 diesel cummins ism voith d864 .3 allison b400r 6 iv 04001 04125 125 04008 retrofitted with an allison b400r 6 iv transmission in 2010 as a test model nfi d40lf 40 ft 12 m 2005 diesel cummins ism voith d864 .3 allison b400r 6 iv 05001 05094 94 05007 retrofitted with white twinvision chroma iv head signs 05073 retired and scrapped ; involved in a fire early 2013 . nfi de40lfr 17 40 ft 12 m 2006 hybrid cummins isl gm allison ep 40 hybridrive 06001 06010 10 first hybrids in fleet split order with wmata fleet wrapped in mta advertisements nfi de60lfr 17 60 ft 18 m 2008 hybrid cummins isl allison ep 50 hybridrive 08001 08030 30 first articulated bus order since 1995 & 1996 began service in 2009 replaced 95 & 96 series nabi 436 in 2009 first bus order to feature the tip in passenger windows nfi de40lfr 17 18 41 ft 12 m 2009 hybrid cummins isl allison ep 40 hybridrive 09001 09100 100 ordered under barack obama s stimulus package nfi de40lfr 19 20 40 ft 12 m 2010 hybrid cummins isl allison ep 40 hybridrive 10001 10041 41 new hvac unit design mounted on roof of bus nfi de60lf 21 22 60 ft 18 m 2010 hybrid cummins isl allison ep 50 hybridrive 11081 11092 12 rejected order from chicago transit authority in 2009 each bus is the price of a 40 foot vehicle white twinvision chroma iv headsigns mci d4500ct 23 45 ft 14 m 2010 diesel cummins isx11 .9 isx 12 allison b500 6 145c 168c 24 first mci order since 2002 used