 | Parts of this article (those related to BaltimoreLink Bus Route Changes) need to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(June 2017) |
| Route 7 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Overview | |
| System | Maryland Transit Administration |
| Garage | Eastern Northwest |
| Status | defunct |
| Began service | 1959 |
| Ended service | 2017 |
| Predecessors | No. 18 Streetcar |
| Route | |
| Locale | Baltimore City |
| Communities served | Upton Seton Hill Little Italy Butcher's Hill |
| Landmarks served | University of Maryland, Baltimore Oriole Park at Camden Yards Convention Center Harborplace National Aquarium Patterson Park |
| Other routes | Navy,3,Yellow,8,10,11,13,15,16,19,20,21,22,23,27,30,35,36,qb40,qb46,qb47,qb48,51,Lime,53,54,61,64,91,97,120,150,160 |
| Service | |
| Level | Daily |
Route 7 was abus route operated by theMaryland Transit Administration inBaltimore. The line, which operated between 1959 and 2017, ran fromCanton, Baltimore to theMondawmin Metro Subway Station, serving the communities ofButcher's Hill,Little Italy, andSandtown-Winchester.
The bus route is the successor to the18 Canton,18 Pennsylvania Avenue, andHudson Streetstreetcar lines; the Pennsylvania Avenue Line was the second streetcar line in Baltimore. Between 1893 and 1931, the Route 7 designation was used for a streetcar that operated between Govanstown and Irvington as a short-turn version of theNo. 8 Streetcar. The no. 7 designation was not given to this route until 1959, when it was combined with the Reisterstown Road bus, which at that time had that designation.[1]
TheBaltimore City Passenger Railway opened a line along Baltimore Street, Greene Street, Pennsylvania Avenue, and Cumberland Street to Boundary Avenue (nowNorth Avenue) on August 24, 1859. The line was later extended along North Avenue, McCulloh Street, and Cloverdale Road to Madison Avenue, and through-routed toCanton (via Baltimore Street, Broadway, Bank Street, and other streets) as theGreen Line.[2][3] The line waselectrified in 1894 and numberedRoute 18 in 1899.
Bus Route L began serving Reisterstown Road toPikesville on July 3, 1929. On June 27, 1948, it was combined withRoute 5 asRoute 5/7; Route 7 trips were extended downtown along Druid Hill Avenue, where Route 5 had run as a streetcar line until then. Route 18 was replaced by buses on June 8, 1952, and on September 6, 1959 it was absorbed into Route 7, which was shifted from Druid Hill Avenue to Pennsylvania Avenue.
Soon after theMetro Subway opened, Route 7 was truncated on June 18, 1984 to its current terminal atMondawmin station during the subway's operating hours. One new route -Route M-2 - was formed beyond Mondawmin, along Reisterstown Road to Old Court Road at Pikesville. It was extended to theOld Court Metro Subway Station on August 31, 1987, soon after that station opened. Route 7 was truncated full-time to Mondawmin in 2001, when subway and Route M-2 hours were extended.
In 2005, as part of theGreater Baltimore Bus Initiative, MTA planned to eliminate Route 7 completely and require riders to walk a few blocks to other nearby routes.[4][5] Due to public outcry, this line remained intact. In future proposed phases of GBBI, plans were in place to reduce the frequency or change the routing of Route 7, but no such changes were made.
On June 18, 2017 as part of the BaltimoreLink transit overhaul Route 7 will be divided into multiple routes. CityLink Lime will take over the upper part of the Pennsylvania Avenue section of Route 7, LocalLink 65 will take over the Pratt and Lombard Streets to Canton part of Route 7, and LocalLink 73 will take over the lower part of Pennsylvania Avenue to Paca and Greene Streets part of Route 7.[6]
Between 1970 and 2000, a special service using the no. 7 (or 7X) designation operated for the employees ofRosewood Center inOwings Mills.[1] The service has started to replaceRoute H service operated by experimentalJob Express Transit in 1969.[7][8] Rosewood trips shared parts of the regular route of Route 7, including some parts in which limited stops were made, hence an express designation.
In 1997, a newRoute M-17 was formed. Route M-17 started as a replacement for special branches of RoutesM-9 andM-16, which were combined at the time.
The initial proposal was for the 7 Rosewood branch to be discontinued except on Sundays, and the new Route M-17 to serve Rosewood on weekdays and Saturdays.[9] But public outcry resulted in the 7 Rosewood service being retained. When Route M-17 was first introduced in 1997, it did not serve Rosewood at all, and simply operated between theBusiness Center at Owings Mills and theOwings Mills Corporate Campus. But a year later, Route M-17 was modified to serve Rosewood as well as theT. Rowe Price Owings Mills campus.[10] Later in 1998, Route M-17 had another addition in which service to theADP building onRed Run Boulevard, providing service to other office buildings that would eventually be built along Red Run. Midday service to Red Run existed briefly in 1999, but was discontinued due to low ridership.
In 2001, the 7 Rosewood service was redesignatedRoute 102. Routing was also modified to serve theOwings Mills Metro Subway Station. The name change was not free of controversy.[11]
In 2005, as part of theGreater Baltimore Bus Initiative, Route 102 was discontinued. Low ridership and a heavy burden on taxpayers was cited as the reason.[12] Additional trips were added on Route M-17 to accommodate riders of Route 102, including late night and weekend service.[13] Other parts of Route M-17 that had low ridership were also discontinued, including those to the Owings Mills Corporate Campus and T. Rowe Price.[14]
On August 30, 2009, following the closure of Rosewood, Route M-17 was discontinued and the Red Run Portion was absorbed by the 59. No replacement was made for any service north of Reisterstown Road.[15]