Earlier this year, the Maryland Transit Administration held a series of “open houses” to discuss the future of Baltimore’s Red Line, the long-discussed (and overdue) east-west transit line. At the heart of the debate is exactly what form of public transportation would this project take? Would it be light rail as originally proposed — at least until it was scrapped by Gov. Larry Hogan in 2015? Or would it be an “alternate delivery strategy,” specifically bus rapid transit or BRT, a high-capacity bus system designed to act like fixed rail?

While Gov. Wes Moore and the MTA have yet to choose (the public comment period closed on July 31 in preparation for a decision in “late 2026 or early 2027,” according to state officials), it’s pretty clear where this particular train of thought is headed. Here’s a clue: The 14-mile-long Red Line is estimated to cost as much as $9 billion as a light rail system and would take perhaps a decade or more to complete. BRT? Perhaps as little as $750 million and five years to finish.

Given Maryland’s Transportation Trust Fund isn’t exactly overflowing with cash, and even last month’s modest inflation-triggered gas tax increase of six-tenths of a penny raised some heat in political circles and President Donald Trump doesn’t appear to be a big fan of public transportation (or handing out grants to a “blue” state like Maryland anyway), how can the Moore administration head in any other direction?

But here’s the consolation prize: It may actually be the correct choice.

Whatever one may think of Baltimore’s existing light rail and subway systems, they represent investments that can’t be justified today given the evolution of Baltimore employment patterns. We are no longer a city where large volumes of commuters are headed from the suburbs to downtown and back again daily. COVID pretty much put a final end to that.

What’s needed today is greater flexibility but with more reliability than traditional bus routes. And that’s exactly what BRT is about: It includes such features as dedicated bus lanes, traffic signal priority, off-board fare collection, elevated platforms and enhanced stations with shelter. In other words, it’s an awful lot like fixed rail but without the costly tunnels.

Is BRT perfect? Of course not. No transit system is, but it’s growing in popularity, not just in big cities like New York and Los Angeles but in smaller towns such as Richmond, Virginia, Pittsburgh, and Hartford, Connecticut. The trick is doing it well — and dealing with the consequences. Take a lane for bus travel and local traffic congestion and parking woes may grow, for example. And BRT systems are notorious for not attracting private investment around stations the way that subway stops often do.

Not far down the road, Montgomery County has been developing its “Flash Bus Rapid Transit” lines in recent years, but customers often complain that the service isn’t really much better than what traditional buses provide. Baltimore will need better. And, indeed, that may be where the final line is drawn: If a proposed Red Line BRT system can save commuters time and money, let’s move forward. If it can’t, why waste our time making buses more attractive? That’s the real decision that now must be made.

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