Regional Transportation Agency of Central Maryland

Regional Transportation Agency of Central Maryland (RTA)
	A Central MD RTA bus in Jessup heading north to Arundel Mills Mall
Founded	July 1, 2014
Commenced operation	July 1, 2014
Locale	8510 Corridor Road, Suite 110, Savage, Maryland 20763
Service area	Anne Arundel, Howard County, City of Laurel, Northern Prince George's County, and Baltimore County
Service type	Fixed-route, Paratransit
Routes	16
Annual ridership	595,497 (2022)
Fuel type	Diesel, gas, electric
Operator	First Transit
General Manager	Jason Quan
Website	http://www.transitRTA.com

Last updated August 04, 2025

The Regional Transportation Agency of Central Maryland, locally referred to as the RTA, is a transit organization providing fixed-route and paratransit services across Central Maryland. The RTA is made up of multiple jurisdictions including Anne Arundel County, Howard County, the City of Laurel, Northern Prince George's County, and Baltimore County.

History

In 2014, Howard County initiated the Regional Transit Agency of Central Maryland, recruiting Anne Arundel County to join areas served by Central Maryland Regional Transit claiming the centralized authority initiated, managed and funded through Howard County would save money in contract expenses. CMRT bid on providing services to these regions after July 1, but lost to First Transit.^[2]

In 2014, Howard County broke ground on a $7.2 million bus depot at Savage, Maryland designed to house 120 buses.^[3]

In 2023, RTA added route 505, the first route to serve Baltimore County.^[4]

In October 2023, RTA released the final draft of the Central Maryland Transit Development Plan (TDP), proposing future changes and improvements to RTA bus service between fiscal years 2024 and 2028.^[5]

System

As of August 2025^[update], RTA operates 14 bus routes in Howard County, Anne Arundel County, Prince George's County, the city of Laurel, and Baltimore County.

300-series routes (Prince George's County)
Route	Route Name	Termini	Areas Served	Transfers	Headway
301	South Laurel	Town Centre Laurel South Laurel Drive	Laurel	RTA 302, 409, 502, 503 Metrobus M52, P12	60 min
302	Greenbelt Metro Station	Town Centre Laurel Greenbelt Metro Station	Laurel Beltsville Greenbelt	Metro Green Line MARC Camden Line RTA 301, 409, 502, 503 Metrobus M52, P12	60 min

400-series routes (Howard County)
Route	Route Name	Termini	Areas Served	Transfers	Headway	Notes
401	Harper's Choice / Clary's Forest	Mall in Columbia Clary's Forest	Harper's Choice Village Center Wilde Lake Village Center Howard County General Hospital Howard Community College	MTA Maryland 150, 203, 305, 310, 315, 320, 325 RTA 402, 403, 404, 407, 408, 501, 503, 505	30 min (weekdays peak) 60 min (off peak)	This route has the shortest headway out of the entire RTA system.
402	Columbia Crossing / Dobbin Center	Mall in Columbia Dobbin Center	Long Reach	MTA Maryland 150, 203, 305, 310, 315, 320, 325 RTA 401, 403, 404, 407, 408, 501, 503, 505	60 min
403	Executive Park Drive	Mall in Columbia Columbia 100 Parkway	Dorsey's Search	MTA Maryland 150, 203, 305, 310, 315, 320, 325 RTA 401, 402, 404, 407, 408, 501, 503, 505	60 min
404	Hickory Ridge	Mall in Columbia Hickory Ridge Village Center	King's Contrivance Hickory Ridge Howard County General Hospital Howard Community College	MTA Maryland 150, 203, 305, 310, 315, 320, 325 RTA 401, 402, 403, 407, 408, 501, 503, 505	60 min
405	Ellicott City	Ellicott City Walmart Pine Orchard Lane	Long Gate Ellicott City	RTA 505	60 min	Restructured in 2023. Used to depart from Mall in Columbia, now departs from Ellicott City Walmart.
406	Columbia Gateway	Mall in Columbia Columbia Gateway	Long Reach Owen Brown	MTA Maryland 150, 203, 305, 310, 315, 320, 325 RTA 401, 402, 403, 404, 407, 408, 501, 503, 505	60 min	As of October 2022. this route has the lowest ridership out of the entire system.^[5] As of 7 July 2024, this route no longer operates.
407	Owen Brown / Kings Contrivance	Mall in Columbia King's Contrivance Village Center	Owen Brown Oakland Mills King's Contrivance	MTA Maryland 150, 203, 305, 310, 315, 320, 325 RTA 401, 402, 403, 404, 408, 501, 503, 505	60 min
408	Lark Brown / Waterloo	Mall in Columbia Waterloo Park	Long Reach Owen Brown East Columbia/Columbia Gateway Office Park Waterloo	MTA Maryland 203, 310, 320 RTA 401, 402, 403, 404, 407, 501, 503, 505	60 min
409	Elkridge Corners	Town Centre Laurel Elkridge	Elkridge Jessup Savage Laurel	MARC Camden Line MTA Maryland 320 Metrobus M52, P12 RTA 301, 302, 501, 502, 503	60 min	Extension to Lansdowne Station and Halethorpe MARC is proposed^[5] Would provide connections: MTA Maryland 32, CityLink YELLOW MARC Penn Line
414 (Not Operating)	Kings Contrivance	Mall in Columbia King's Contrivance Village Center	King's Contrivance Village Center	MTA Maryland 150, 203, 305, 310, 315, 320, 325 RTA 401, 402, 403, 404, 406, 407, 408, 501, 503, 505	60 min	Stopped service in 2020.

500-series regional routes
Route	Route Name	Termini	Areas Served	Transfers	Headway	Notes
501	Columbia / Arundel Mills	Mall in Columbia Arundel Mills	Jessup South Elkridge	MTA Maryland 75, 150, 201, 203, 305, 310, 315, 320, 325 RTA 401, 402, 403, 404, 407, 408, 409, 502, 503, 505 MARC Camden Line	60 min	As of October 2022, this route has the highest ridership out of the entire system.^[5] Extension to BWI Airport is proposed in the 2023 TDP. Would provide connections: MTA Maryland Light RailLink MARC Penn Line
502	Laurel / Arundel Mills	Town Centre Laurel Arundel Mills	Laurel Maryland City	Metrobus M52, P12 MTA Maryland 17, 75, 201 RTA 301, 302, 409, 501	45 min (weekday peak) 60 min (weekday off-peak) 120 min (weekend)	This is the only route to have a 120-minute headway.
503	Laurel / Columbia	Mall in Columbia Town Centre Laurel	Laurel Savage Owen Brown	Metrobus M52, P12 MTA Maryland 17, 201, 203, 310, 320 RTA 301, 302, 401, 402, 403, 404, 407, 408, 409, 501, 502, 505	60 min
505	Columbia / Catonsville	Mall in Columbia Walmart Catonsville	Columbia Ellicott City Catonsville	MTA Maryland 77, 150, CityLink PURPLE, 203, 305, 310, 315, 320, 325 RTA 401, 402, 403, 404, 405, 407, 408, 501, 503	60 min	Added in 2023. First route to connect to an MTA Maryland CityLink bus. Also the first route to serve Baltimore County. The proposed 409 extension will be the second, also connecting to a CityLink bus.

Hubs

RTA has a number of transit hubs where numerous bus lines meet. They include:

Fares

Bus fare can be purchased on the bus, at certain library branches, senior centers, online for shipping, and through the Transit app.^[6]

Type	Fare (USD)
One-Way Fare *available on the bus or through the Transit app	$2.00
Daily Pass *only sold through the Transit app	$5.00
10-Ride Ticket Book *available online for shipping or in-person	$15.00
Monthly Pass *available online, in-person, or through the Transit app	$40.00
Children Under 5 years old	Free
Seniors over 60 years old or Persons with Disabilities	Free
Middle/High School Students (Yearly) *available through the Transit app	Free
Howard Community College Students (Yearly) *available through the Transit app	Free
Monthly Pass (Student)	$20.00

Fixed-route fleet


Builder and model name	Model year	Quantity	Vehicles in service	Notes
Ford Cutaway	2014	5	5	Truck bus
Ford Cutaway	2017	1	1	Truck bus
BYD K9S	2016	3	3	All-electric bus
El Dorado E-Z Rider 32'	2017	7	7
El Dorado E-Z Rider 32'	2018	6	6
El Dorado E-Z Rider 32'	2019	2	2
El Dorado E-Z Rider 32'	2022	11	11
Gillig Low Floor HEV 35'	2008	2	2	Hybrid bus
Gillig Low Floor HEV 35'	2009	1	1	Hybrid bus
Gillig Low Floor HEV 35'	2011	3	3	Hybrid bus
Gillig Low Floor 29'	2002	3	0
El Dorado HC Series 28'	2014	1	0	Truck bus

References

↑ "RTA Appoints New General Manager: Cristin Tolen" (Press release). Regional Transportation Agency of Central Maryland. November 30, 2017. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
↑ Amanda Yeager (March 27, 2014). "Howard, Anne Arundel join to form new Regional Transportation Agency". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved June 6, 2014.
↑ Candy Thomson (22 April 2013). "Howard, Anne Arundel officials lobby for regional bus system Transit lines would link communities to major employment centers". The Baltimore Sun.
↑ "Routes 405_505_Planning – Welcome to RTA" . Retrieved 2023-11-19.
1 2 3 4 "RTA of Central Maryland Transit Development Plan" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 November 2023. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
↑ "Regional Transportation Agency of Central Maryland".

External links

www.transitRTA.com

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[1] "RTA Appoints New General Manager: Cristin Tolen" (Press release). Regional Transportation Agency of Central Maryland. November 30, 2017. Retrieved December 20, 2019.

[2] Amanda Yeager (March 27, 2014). "Howard, Anne Arundel join to form new Regional Transportation Agency". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved June 6, 2014.

[3] Candy Thomson (22 April 2013). "Howard, Anne Arundel officials lobby for regional bus system Transit lines would link communities to major employment centers". The Baltimore Sun.

[4] "Routes 405_505_Planning – Welcome to RTA" . Retrieved 2023-11-19.

[:0-5] 1 2 3 4 "RTA of Central Maryland Transit Development Plan" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 November 2023. Retrieved 19 November 2023.

[transitrta-6] "Regional Transportation Agency of Central Maryland".

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