Four Railroad Commuting Stops To Close, What can we learn from this?

"We don't need fancy things," says Brenda Klaunberg, a 44-year-old veterinarian who commutes on the MARC Camden line to the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda. "We just want to get on and off." (Sun photo by Amy Davis)Dec 21, 2005

I'm not really broken up about the MARC decision to close four railroad stops, given that less than 45 people used these stations each day. (See "Four MARC stations to close" and "Last stop for St. Denis?" from the Baltimore Sun and "MARC Will Close Little-Used Stops" and the editorial "Keep Those Stations Open" from the Washington Post.)

What I am more interested in is why were these station stops barely used, while other stations are quite busy.

For example, in October 2003, the Baltimore Sun reported, in "Riding train is easy, parking is hard part," about "too much" success at the Odenton Station, which has 1,300 parking spots, but 2,000 daily riders.

Early-morning commuters prepare to board a MARC train at the Odenton station. Acknowledging the inadequacy of parking, a MARC spokesman says the station has become a victim of its own success. (Sun photo by Amy Davis) Oct 14, 2003

From the article:

To alleviate Odenton's parking woes, MARC recently began offering free parking to monthly passengers at the BWI Rail Station, about six miles from Odenton. MARC also leases about 250 spots at Odenton's fire station, a grassy and often muddy plot about a 10- minute walk from the train.

While Montgomery County officials complained about the closures, asserting that future development would likely increase ridership, I didn't see any media reports about plans to boost ridership and transit demand. Here's what the Post reported:

The decision by the administration of Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R) to shut the stations was made despite the opposition of elected officials and residents in the area. The Montgomery County Council unanimously passed a resolution last month opposing the closures, which council members said would worsen traffic problems in the northern tier of the county.

"This only contributes to more traffic congestion on our roads," said David Weaver, a spokesman for Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan, a Democratic candidate for governor. For weeks, Duncan and other elected officials in Montgomery have joined with residents to fight plans to close the Boyds and Dickerson stations, where trains have been picking up commuters since the 1880s and where roads are clogged with rush-hour commuters.

"I am not sure how, when the state has made no progress on widening Interstate 270, you reduce service on the only transit option that exists in one of the fastest-growing corridors in the state," said council member Michael Knapp (D-Upcounty).

Where were the customers? Options are good, use is even better!

In this Post article, "Council Opposes Closing MARC Stations," there is some discussion of this:
Knapp and Floreen attributed the low ridership to poor advertising of the stations as well as infrequent stops by trains. "We need more options, not fewer," Floreen said. "We need them to increase trains and hours to get people out of their cars."

Was the issue frequency of service? Was it lack of advertising? Is it because people in that area of Montgomery County don't work in places that the MARC railroad services?

That's where the energies need to be directed. What is it about Odenton's success that is replicable elsewhere along the Maryland MARC lines and will boost ridership?

Montgomery County has some responsibility to step up and make a solid case for keeping the stations open. A solid case would be built around a plan to boost ridership.

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