Annapolis transportation director outlines 5-year transit development plan, pilots and county coordination

The Annapolis Environmental Matters Committee on May 8 heard an overview of the city’s Transit Development Plan (TDP) from Marcus Moore, director of Transportation and Parking, including details on a two‑year pilot for a microtransit on‑demand service branded GoTime, proposals to redraw route zones and suggestions to better coordinate with Anne Arundel County and the Maryland Transit Administration (MDOT MTA).

Moore said the TDP is a required short‑range, five‑year “road map” that helps the city qualify for grant funds and plan service changes. "This particular plan is done every 5 years for our funding sources for, it's like a road map to take a look at where we are and where we like to go," Moore said. He noted the city began piloting GoTime July 15 of last year and described early performance: "In the first few months, it equaled the service. And right now, it's, you know, single digits more than what we were carrying before."

The plan’s technical team and Moore recommended looking at headways (the time for a route to complete a loop), target service frequencies under 30 minutes where feasible, and reconfiguring fixed routes (brown, green and red) plus a potential new "blue" route to create better spines for microtransit zones. Moore said microtransit aims to shorten travel times on long low‑frequency legs — for example cutting an Eastport trip that took an hour and 20 minutes on the purple route to roughly half that time when served by on‑demand vehicles.

Committee members pressed two overarching policy questions: whether Annapolis should work toward a single regional system rather than parallel city and county systems, and how the TDP should be tied to the city’s Comprehensive Plan (2040). Alderman Arnett asked how the TDP integrates with the comprehensive plan; Moore replied the TDP is grant‑funded and short range while the comprehensive plan is city funded and longer term, and both should be coordinated. Alderman Eduardo and others argued the city should treat transit as an essential municipal service and align funding and planning across departments.

Moore outlined likely budget implications if the city were to pursue fare‑free service or expand fixed routes: while fares alone may account for $320,000–$330,000 in passenger revenue, organizational-paid fares (agreements where agencies purchase passes) and county subsidies add to the total. He said some organizational fares (e.g., state Department of General Services) amount to roughly $265,000 and that eliminating fares would remove that revenue unless replaced by other funding arrangements.

Committee discussion covered operational details of GoTime (vehicles are city‑marked cutaway buses, accessible, typically 8–15 seats), zones planned for the pilot, and the tradeoffs between larger fixed routes and on‑demand services that feed spines. Multiple members asked for better outreach and real‑time vehicle tracking: Moore said the city is working to expand AVL (automatic vehicle location) across its fleet so riders can get near‑real‑time arrival information similar to ride‑hail apps.

Outcome and next steps: committee members did not take a formal vote to approve the TDP. The chair and director agreed to hold no action at this meeting and to add the item to the next committee/Transportation Committee agenda so planning staff can share the presentation deck, financial tables and any revisions requested by the Transportation Committee. Moore said planners (KFH) will finalize answers to outstanding questions and the city will circulate an abridged highlights deck to council members.

Why it matters: the TDP shapes where transit service will be put and how the city competes for state and federal grants. Committee members repeatedly raised funding and land‑use integration concerns — specifically, whether zoning and development decisions should precede or follow major transit investments.

The committee asked staff to circulate the presentation and the TDP highlights to all councilmembers and recommended additional joint work sessions with Planning, Finance and the Transportation Committee to discuss funding, zoning links and regional coordination.

(Reporting: presentation and discussion by Marcus Moore, director of Transportation and Parking; questions and comments from Alderman Arnett, Alderman Savage, Alderman Finlayson and other committee members.)