ELLICOTT CITY, MD – Howard County’s local transit service, the Regional Transportation Agency of Central Maryland (RTA), anticipates providing a transformational one million + passenger trips in one fiscal year by June 2025, marking the first time in its 10-year history to achieve that record level of ridership. Howard County, RTA, and their regional partners will celebrate this milestone with several fare-free days and pop-up events in the months leading up to a ‘Ride to 1 Million’ event in June 2025.
“Transit connections are vital for our workforce, our economy, and the success of our community. Since 2014, RTA has provided important connections through fixed-route and paratransit services to Howard County and our neighboring jurisdictions in Central Maryland,” said Howard County Executive Calvin Ball. “As County Executive, I am excited to celebrate all that RTA has accomplished in the last decade, especially in recent years, including adding Baltimore County to RTA’s service area last year, as well as this milestone of more than one million passenger trips in one year.”
RTA was launched in 2014 as a consortium of regional partners to streamline locally operated transit services in Central Maryland, initially serving Howard County, northern Anne Arundel and Prince George’s Counties, and the City of Laurel. In 2023, RTA service was extended into Baltimore County via Route 505 service to Catonsville.
“As happened with most transit services, RTA ridership was negatively affected during COVID-19,” said Trey Dickerson, Administrator of the Howard County Office of Transportation. “Watching RTA rebound beyond pre-pandemic levels is a testament to what this service offers our residents, and this is our way of saying thank you for riding with us.”
To show their gratitude, Howard County, its regional partners, and RTA will be offering the following fare-free days, in addition to fare free days previously announced:
· Tuesday, April 22, 2025 (Earth Day)
· Friday, April 25, 2025 (National Get on Board Day)
· Friday, May 16, 2025 (National Bike to Work Day)
· Wednesday, June 18, 2025 (1 Million Rides Day)
“We would have likely hit one million passenger trips in 2020 if COVID hadn’t occurred – we were at more than 900,000 in 2019,” said Jason Quan, General Manager of RTA. “Our ridership has really bounced back, and we are thrilled to hit the one million mark this year and celebrate with our riders.”
More information about RTA, fare-free days, and the ‘Ride to 1 Million’ celebration, can be found by visiting: https://www.transitrta.com/.
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