The United States once built big — and we built boldly. From 1956 to 1992, the Interstate Highway System stretched nearly 50,000 miles across the country, reshaping the US economy and our daily lives. Today, if we are serious about economic competitiveness, climate resilience, lowering costs, and giving people choices, we need to make a similar investment to build world-class American transit. And Maryland could lead the way. World-class transit is not a luxury. It is a system that gets people where they need to go — frequently, reliably, and conveniently — without forcing them into a car for every trip. An ambitious, sustained investment in transit by 2050 would improve Maryland’s economy, health, and environment. US and Maryland transit systems fall far short of world-class standards Transportation for America (T4A) defines a world-class transit system as one that gets people where they need to go and is accessible, frequent, reliable, and convenient. T4A’s new report identifies 17 global cities that meet that standard. None of them are in the US. In Central Maryland, which includes Baltimore City and its surrounding counties, we’re well behind. The Central Maryland Transportation Alliance (CMTA), where I am the president and CEO, gave Central Maryland’s transit system an average grade of D across 12 indicators in its 2026 Transportation Report Card, exactly what it was 10 years ago. CMTA’s report card corroborates what T4A found across the country. On average, while residents of Central Maryland can drive to 100% of the region’s jobs in an hour or less, they can reach only 7.5% of jobs by taking public transit. Overall, transit in the Central Maryland region falls 43% short of the service needed to be world-class. Transit is also critical for the environment and our health. Tailpipes are the largest source of climate emissions in the US. In our region, they cause ground-level ozone levels that are harmful to human lungs on multiple days per year. Faster, more frequent transit service makes it possible to reduce these impacts. What would it take to get up to speed? The Central Maryland region would need to spend 50% more on transit to achieve world-class service, comparable to investments made in Hong Kong, London, Montreal, and Sydney. That would mean adding 698 buses, 178 new rail vehicles, and 75 new miles of dedicated bus lanes, subway extensions, and light rail. In similar analyses for all major US urban areas, T4A estimates that a total investment of $4.6 trillion over 20 years would give Americans the same freedom to choose high-quality transit that people enjoy in other highly developed economies. That number will raise eyebrows — but it shouldn’t. Over the same period, the United States is projected to spend $6.3 trillion on highways. Since 1956, we have spent $9.6 trillion more on highways than on transit. The question is not whether we can afford world-class transit; it’s whether we will make it a priority. Transit means more affordable travel, more innovation Transit investments could save Americans trillions of dollars by providing alternatives to car dependency. When the government builds roads or highways, Americans spend on average more than $13,000 annually per household to use them. By contrast, when the government builds a bus or train system, Americans travel much more affordably. T4A found that reducing the overall reliance on cars by just a fraction of a percent each year would save over $5.4 trillion nationwide. In Central Maryland, that savings would be about $52 billion in direct transportation users’ savings, in addition to government savings on road construction, health care costs from crashes, and more. Beyond savings for households, transit makes it possible for cities to be hubs of innovation, job creation, and economic productivity. That helps explain why studies show that every dollar invested in transit generates $5 in economic benefits. Just repeating the current pattern of investments guarantees continued poor performance. We built a world-class highway system because we believed it was essential to the nation’s future. It’s time to bring that same level of ambition to transit.

In a joint statement, Brian O’Malley of the Central Maryland Transportation Alliance and Jed Weeks of Bikemore welcomed the funding and urged Moore to include construction money in his next fiscal year budget proposal. “Today we say thanks. But the bottom line for the kids, schools, workers and employers is when will improved service begin?” they asked. Jon Laria, chair of the Baltimore Regional Transit Commission, thanked Arnold and the transit administration for fast-tracking the funding. He also acknowledged the challenges that bus expansion still faces. “Now we have to figure out how to fund the rest of it,” he said.

Despite a budget that gets bigger every year, the state transportation department hasn’t expanded Baltimore’s transit network in decades, said Brian O’Malley, director and CEO of the Central Maryland Transportation Alliance, a policy research and advocacy organization. Students and workers who rely on the system get a message that they aren’t a priority. “MTA can put out all the plans it wants, whether it’s to build a new rail line or to expand and improve the bus system, but none of that will happen unless the governor supports and funds it,” O’Malley said.

"Brian O’Malley, president and CEO for the Central Maryland Transportation Alliance, an advocacy and policy research organization, said the state has the money to fund the bus plan but is simply choosing not to. He noted that state lawmakers raised revenue through tax and fee increases the past two years, but that it’s been decades since the MTA has expanded its network. "