The BWI Business Partnership has launched the second year of service of the County Connector Shuttle.
The County Connector is a free shuttle service made possible with the support of the Local Development Council, Anne Arundel County and the communities and businesses surrounding the Live! Casino & Hotel. It is designed to connect residents, workforce and job seekers to BWI Marshall Airport and the BWI Light Rail Station, Live! Casino & Hotel and Arundel Mills, Arundel Preserve and the BWI MARC/Amtrak stations to effectively access employment.
“When we started the project in July 2018, we had 5,418 passengers, or an average of 175 riders a day,” said the partnership Executive Director Gina Stewart. “In its final month, the total passenger [count] was close to 9,000, averaging 294 passengers daily.”
Partnership Director of Community Development Peach Dolar shared that the pilot year of the program allowed the Partnership to identify opportunities for improvement, and went on to outline the changes being implemented in fiscal 2020. “We have revised the schedule to be more time efficient, increasing frequency to its major transit stops, and always with a view to as much connectivity to the other transit services, such as RTA’s 501 service to Columbia, the MARC train, Amtrak and the light rail service,” she said.
The County Connector boasts a new appearance, too: It’s wrapped to better promote the service offered to the public and the stops that it makes. The branding also directs inquiries to a 24/7 call center that is dedicated to answering questions, documenting and relaying feedback, as well as assisting riders who have questions about the schedule or may be unable to locate the schedule online or on the free shuttle-tracking app.