A final report prepared by the Central Maryland Transportation Alliance as part of its “Last Mile Project” identifies may of the transportation shortcomings in the central Maryland region. The report, which focused on public transportation options near Arundel Mills, Fort Meade, and Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, relied on interviews with employers and workforce development experts, and surveys of employees.

As reported by The Daily Record,

The main problem the report highlighted, for which the project was named, is the last mile of the commute, which surveys showed was often the most challenging and inefficient leg of a worker’s trip.

According to the survey results among workers who use public transportation in those areas, only 27 percent said their final transit stop was within a quarter-mile of their workplace. Nearly half of them must travel at least a mile from public transportation to their workplace. Many traverse the last leg of their commute by walking.

Other problems included the transit schedule and frequency of service.

The reports also offered solutions.

The suggested solutions include adding light rail service so it is more accessible for weekend workers, adding runs on the MARC Penn line, eliminating some MTA bus stops for faster trips and providing free circulator buses in some locations to provide transport in the last mile.

This Summer’s MACo Conference will feature a session on Creative and Collaborative Transportation Solutions. For more information and to register, see the MACo website.