ELLICOTT CITY, MD – Howard County Executive Calvin Ball today announced Howard County ridership of the Regional Transportation Agency of Central Maryland (RTA) has surpassed one million rides for the first time in transit history.
In Howard County, we continue to create vital connections for our residents and workforce to travel to key destinations across Central Maryland. Our consistent increases in ridership since the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrate the demand for more public transit and reflect the enhancements we have made to RTA in recent years. I commend the RTA, the Howard County Office of Transportation, and our partner jurisdictions for their continued efforts to provide quality transit services for those who live, work, play, grow, and thrive in our community.
During Fiscal Year 2025, which ended on June 30, 2025, RTA provided 1,021,870 passenger trips. This is the first time RTA achieved this record level of ridership, an increase of nearly 6.4% over FY2024 ridership. RTA’s FY2025 ridership increased more than 11% over FY2019 ridership, rebounding and improving over the decrease in ridership due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
I would like to thank all of our riders and dedicated employees in reaching this unprecedented milestone for RTA and look forward to building on this great achievement.
"A shout out to the staffs, operators, elected officials, and especially the riders who made it possible of achieving the milestone of a million passenger trips for FY 2025," said Ron Skotz, Chair, Central Maryland Transportation & Mobility Commission.
In addition to these historic ridership trends, Howard County is also expanding its free fare program to ensure that all children under the age of 18 will be permitted to ride fixed route service for free on the RTA. In 2021, Ball launched the free student bus pass program for Howard County Public School System (HCPSS) middle and high school students and Howard Community College (HCC) students. This program was bolstered in 2023, when Howard County partnered with RTA to transition all bus passes to a digital platform through the Transit application. Now, all children can ride free on the RTA. Children under the age of 12 need to be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
Since the beginning of the free student bus pass program, nearly 2,000 printed passes have been issued, and since September 2023, more than 450 students have activated free, digital student bus passes through RTA. Additionally, in the last year alone, RTA provided more than 3,500 free rides to students at HCC and in HCPSS. Ahead of the 2025-2026 school year, HCPSS middle and high school students and HCC students can activate their free, digital bus passes by visiting: https://www.transitrta.com/hcpss-student-bus-pass-program/.
“Building on our record year of ridership, expanding free rides to all children creates more transportation options for our families to access the places and opportunities they need to succeed,” said Clarence Dickerson, III, Administrator, Office of Transportation. “By no longer limiting this program to children enrolled in HCPSS or HCC, taking RTA will be more streamlined for families on the go.”
This expansion of free fixed route service for children builds upon County Executive Calvin Ball’s other recent efforts to expand public transportation opportunities in Howard County. In March, Ball launched the County’s HoCo Rapid Ride micro-transit program along the Route One corridor, serving Elkridge, Laurel, and Jessup. In early May, Ball joined Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich to formalize a partnership to bring Flash Bus Rapid Transit to Howard County in 2026. Also in May, Ball joined the RTA to launch the new Old Ellicott City Trolley service, a new bus route serving Main Street Ellicott City. Through these efforts and continued investment in the RTA’s fixed route and paratransit services, Howard County is more connected than ever before.
Howard County residents and visitors are also encouraged to enjoy recently improved bus stops throughout RTA’s service area. Public art installations by four artists were commissioned to beautify the existing structures with their unique visions. The bus shelters are located at the following bus stops:
- Old Dobbin Lane / Long Reach High School (Northbound)
- Freetown Road / Atholton High School
- Twin Rivers Road / Trumpeter Road (Eastbound)
- Guilford Road / Hammond High School
- Washington Boulevard / Dorsey Road
- Rowanberry Drive / Elkridge Library (Northbound)
- Rowanberry Drive / Elkridge Library (Southbound)
- Hickory Ridge Road / Cordage Walk
- Kilimanjaro Road / Oakland Mills High School
For more information about RTA, visit: https://www.howardcountymd.gov/transportation/public-transportation/.