Episode 31

From Amtrak to Annapolis: Markus Moore’s Lifetime Career in Transit

Markus Moore, Director of Transportation for the City of Annapolis, joins Paul Comfort from the rooftop of the Hillman Garage during Naval Academy Commissioning Week for a wide-ranging conversation about his remarkable journey through transit. From helping launch high-speed rail in North America as part of the Acela project at Amtrak, to managing local bus and on-demand service in Maryland’s historic capital city, Markus brings decades of cross-modal experience and leadership to the mic.

This interview is a companion episode to an upcoming Transit Unplugged TV episode focused on Maryland’s transit ecosystem, featuring Annapolis, Howard County, and MTA.


In This Episode:

  • What it means to run transit in a state capital with high seasonal and political visibility
  • The evolution of Annapolis’s fixed-route, paratransit, and on-demand services
  • Reflections on the launch of high-speed rail in the U.S. via the Acela project
  • How Commissioning Week and tourism reshape service in a city like Annapolis
  • The rollout of electric buses and steps toward a greener fleet
  • Collaboration with MTA, RTA, and other regional transit partners
  • Career lessons from rail, freight, and bus systems across the U.S.

🎧 Podcast Credits:

Transit Unplugged is brought to you by Modaxo


Creator, Host, + Producer: Paul Comfort

Executive Producer: Julie Gates

Producer + Newsletter Editor: Chris O’Keeffe

Associate Producer: Cyndi Raskin

Special thanks to:

🎨 Brand Design: Tina Olagundoye

📱 Social Media: Tatyana Mechkarova

Got a question or comment? Email us at: info@transitunplugged.com


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⚠️ Disclaimer:

The views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the guests, and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Modaxo Inc., its affiliates or subsidiaries, or any entities they represent (“Modaxo”). This production belongs to Modaxo and may contain information that may be subject to trademark, copyright, or other intellectual property rights and restrictions. This production provides general information, and should not be relied on as legal advice or opinion. Modaxo specifically disclaims all warranties, express or implied, and will not be liable for any losses, claims, or damages arising from the use of this presentation, from any material contained in it, or from any action or decision taken in response to it.

Transcript
Paul Comfort:

Hi, I'm Paul Comfort and this is Transit Unplugged.

Paul Comfort:

And today I have the pleasure of bringing to you at interview with my friend Marcus

Paul Comfort:

Moore, who is director of Transportation.

Paul Comfort:

From the city of Annapolis, Maryland, my home state, just across the

Paul Comfort:

Chesapeake Bay from where I live.

Paul Comfort:

I actually lived in Annapolis for a couple years when I was younger as a child.

Paul Comfort:

Uh, and this interview is a companion episode to our upcoming

Paul Comfort:

Transit and Unplugged TV episode in which we include an interview

Paul Comfort:

with Marcus Moore as well as a.

Paul Comfort:

Uh, Holly Arnold, the CEO of the MTA in Baltimore, and we look at the

Paul Comfort:

purple line and other transit systems around the state, um, including

Paul Comfort:

one in Howard County, the RTA.

Paul Comfort:

All of that is coming up in our September episode of Transit Unplugged tv,

Paul Comfort:

our once a month television program.

Paul Comfort:

We actually record this podcast on the roof of the Hillman Garage on my

Paul Comfort:

phone, talking about transit, Annapolis.

Paul Comfort:

Of course, Annapolis is the capital of the state of Maryland.

Paul Comfort:

Not only do they have a Naval Academy there, but they have, you know, the

Paul Comfort:

State House, the General Assembly, the governor's office and all that,

Paul Comfort:

and it's a great historic city.

Paul Comfort:

It's also the sailing capital of the United States.

Paul Comfort:

And there's so many, uh, facets to their public transportation system.

Paul Comfort:

I wanted him to share it with you on this podcast.

Paul Comfort:

And so he does.

Paul Comfort:

I think you'll find it fascinating.

Paul Comfort:

Speaking of Transit Unplugged tv, this is a companion episode as I mentioned, but

Paul Comfort:

we had a great honor this last week and that was, we were honored with the 46th

Paul Comfort:

Annual Tell Award for travel and Tourism.

Paul Comfort:

That's right.

Paul Comfort:

It's probably our highest honor we've ever won.

Paul Comfort:

Uh, we.

Paul Comfort:

Submitted this episode, the Rocky Mountaineer Train Experience.

Paul Comfort:

Uh, and it earned a bronze tele in travel and tourism.

Paul Comfort:

It was recognized for excellence in an online and television series.

Paul Comfort:

It's the same show that we won these two awards for the, uh,

Paul Comfort:

communicator Award and the Worldwide Web W three award this last year.

Paul Comfort:

This is a great episode.

Paul Comfort:

Go to our YouTube page, transit Unplugged tv and check it out.

Paul Comfort:

It's the Rocky Mountaineer experience.

Paul Comfort:

I'd done a podcast interview, uh, with the president after I rode the.

Paul Comfort:

The Rocky Mountaineer train that, that was Denver to Moab route, which was fantastic.

Paul Comfort:

And they said, we'd like you to come up and join with other media

Paul Comfort:

and um, do an episode in Canada.

Paul Comfort:

So we did that and it was fantastic.

Paul Comfort:

And the show is unlike any other.

Paul Comfort:

We've done a real tourism type show.

Paul Comfort:

I think you'll love it.

Paul Comfort:

Check it out.

Paul Comfort:

Um.

Paul Comfort:

I wanna give congratulations to our team, of course, myself

Paul Comfort:

as the host and producer.

Paul Comfort:

I loved making this episode.

Paul Comfort:

It's one of the most fun episodes I've been on.

Paul Comfort:

Uh, but really a lot of credit goes to our video director and music director

Paul Comfort:

and creative director, Jamie Quadra.

Paul Comfort:

Uh, and, uh, also Herardo.

Paul Comfort:

Colin Tuo was helping U.S. on it some.

Paul Comfort:

And our executive producer for our program is Julie Gates.

Paul Comfort:

Thanks to all them for their role in this.

Paul Comfort:

We've got a lot of great upcoming episodes.

Paul Comfort:

Uh, coming up with Transit Unplugged tv, like I said, including the

Paul Comfort:

one right here in Maryland and my home county of Queen Annes County.

Paul Comfort:

Two episodes.

Paul Comfort:

The Maryland episode that supports this podcast will air in September.

Paul Comfort:

The Queen Annes County episode will air in October.

Paul Comfort:

Now let's jump into this fun interview we did from the roof of a parking garage in

Paul Comfort:

downtown Annapolis with Marcus Moore, the Director of Transportation for the City.

Paul Comfort:

Enjoy.

Paul Comfort:

This is Paul Comfort and we are in downtown Annapolis and commissioning

Paul Comfort:

week for the Naval Academy.

Paul Comfort:

I'm standing on top of the Hillman Garage.

Paul Comfort:

And I'm with Marcus Moore.

Paul Comfort:

Who

Paul Comfort:

yeah.

Paul Comfort:

We're looking right behind your, your shoulder as the state capitol.

Paul Comfort:

Yes sir. The great dome.

Paul Comfort:

This is the oldest.

Paul Comfort:

What is it?

Paul Comfort:

The oldest,

Marcus Moore:

oldest, uh, working legislative building in the United States.

Marcus Moore:

That's amazing.

Marcus Moore:

And what's your official title here at Annapolis?

Marcus Moore:

I am the director of Transportation and parking for the City of Annapolis Public.

Marcus Moore:

So you work for the city government?

Marcus Moore:

I do work for the city government.

Marcus Moore:

So tell U.S. about

Paul Comfort:

your transit system.

Marcus Moore:

Our transit system is like a pulse system.

Marcus Moore:

We have a fixed route.

Marcus Moore:

Uh, we have a DA complimentary paratransit, and we're piloting a

Marcus Moore:

new on demand transit service that we go when you, where you want

Marcus Moore:

to go, uh, when you want to go.

Marcus Moore:

Within three quarters of a mile of our fixed root stocks.

Marcus Moore:

This is a pilot program that we started last July and it's

Marcus Moore:

really working out pretty well.

Marcus Moore:

Paul, we're really excited to try something new.

Marcus Moore:

. So, um, how long have you been here in this job?

Marcus Moore:

I've been here with the city of Annapolis, department of Transportation

Marcus Moore:

since, uh, December of 2015.

Marcus Moore:

And my current position as Director of Transportation since October of 2022.

Paul Comfort:

We were just talking about kind of our shared background

Paul Comfort:

and, , tell U.S. about some of your past because it is, you have

Paul Comfort:

a great history for transportation.

Paul Comfort:

In both rail and bus.

Marcus Moore:

Yeah.

Marcus Moore:

Paul, thanks for asking.

Marcus Moore:

Going back to 1983, I started with uh, NRPC, which is National Railroad

Marcus Moore:

Passenger Corporation, better known to most people as Amtrak.

Marcus Moore:

Amtrak.

Marcus Moore:

That's right, baby.

Marcus Moore:

Yes.

Marcus Moore:

I started as a trainer, attend outta New York City, uh, doing most of the East

Marcus Moore:

Coast runs and transferred to Washington DC Uh, did that for about four or five

Marcus Moore:

years before I went into ticketing.

Marcus Moore:

Uh, I was a ticket agent for about two or three years in station operations,

Marcus Moore:

and then I ran the auto train for about.

Marcus Moore:

Four years from 92 to 97.

Marcus Moore:

That's pretty cool, dude.

Marcus Moore:

Yeah, it was really a lot of fun.

Marcus Moore:

But the most fun, uh, job that I think I had was bringing high

Marcus Moore:

speed rail to North America.

Marcus Moore:

That was on the Ella project out of , Philadelphia office.

Marcus Moore:

So high-speed rail that came, , to fruition back in 20 2001 as a part of

Marcus Moore:

bringing that in, , bringing a lot of our, our employees, uh, conductors, engineers.

Marcus Moore:

Onboard service attendants to see how they, , do it in another country.

Marcus Moore:

So we got a chance to travel and benchmark some high speed rail in Europe.

Marcus Moore:

And how fast is that Acela train

Paul Comfort:

go?

Paul Comfort:

I've ridden it, it's pretty

Marcus Moore:

fast.

Marcus Moore:

What it did, it, uh, with tilt technology was able to take, , certain curves at

Marcus Moore:

a higher speed, but the highest, uh, recorded speed is 150 miles an hour.

Marcus Moore:

Wow.

Marcus Moore:

And that's up in New England.

Marcus Moore:

There's only about 30 miles of track that it gets to that.

Marcus Moore:

But the old Metroliners in the northeast quarter got as high as 1 25.

Marcus Moore:

And these can take the curves also at 1 35.

Marcus Moore:

So it is pretty fast getting from Washington, DC and

Marcus Moore:

clearly DC to Boston where they electrified that segment of track.

Marcus Moore:

They used to take five hours, brought it down to like two and a half.

Paul Comfort:

Really?

Paul Comfort:

Yeah.

Paul Comfort:

Yeah.

Paul Comfort:

I've done it.

Paul Comfort:

I, I ride from, um, Wilmington, Wilmington, Delaware.

Paul Comfort:

Yeah.

Paul Comfort:

To Joe Biden station right there where he's from.

Paul Comfort:

Delaware guy, you know, and, uh, ride it up to New York City.

Paul Comfort:

Yes.

Paul Comfort:

Yeah.

Paul Comfort:

Or I will go to One Pen Plaza to go see New Jersey Transit, and I think

Paul Comfort:

later this year I'm gonna ride it.

Marcus Moore:

It's really a great way to go, you know, sit back and watch sea.

Marcus Moore:

Uh, what do they say is, uh, see America at sea level.

Marcus Moore:

Oh yeah.

Marcus Moore:

So you're even to go, you can just travel and, and have a nice beverage

Marcus Moore:

and look at the scenery you're going by.

Marcus Moore:

So, but that's a great rep.

Paul Comfort:

Let's swing back in your story a little bit then.

Paul Comfort:

So you were at Amtrak for how many years?

Paul Comfort:

Uh,

Marcus Moore:

eh, 20.

Marcus Moore:

20 years.

Marcus Moore:

Mm-hmm.

Paul Comfort:

Got a full career in.

Paul Comfort:

Full career In.

Paul Comfort:

And then what'd you do after that?

Marcus Moore:

After that I went to, uh, freight Railroad.

Marcus Moore:

I worked.

Marcus Moore:

For Norfolk Southern got qualified as a freight train conductor from

Marcus Moore:

CP three, which is just south of the Philadelphia station to the Susquehanna.

Marcus Moore:

So I brought a lot of uh, cars to like Chrysler Yard, and I was a part of Norfolk

Marcus Moore:

Southern's Harrisburg crew base in the New Castle subdivision in Delaware.

Marcus Moore:

Okay.

Marcus Moore:

For about a year.

Marcus Moore:

That's so and then what?

Marcus Moore:

And then I came into busing, and then busing comes in around 2006.

Marcus Moore:

Okay.

Marcus Moore:

And I worked at BWI as the assistant general manager for MAA.

Marcus Moore:

We were the contract bus operator.

Marcus Moore:

For the, uh, state owned garages, long-term, a long-term

Marcus Moore:

B deal garage, and all.

Marcus Moore:

Oh yeah.

Marcus Moore:

You're

Paul Comfort:

the one I gotta complain

Marcus Moore:

to.

Paul Comfort:

Kidding.

Marcus Moore:

And then the, um, the old Howard County Transit

Marcus Moore:

as known today as the RTA.

Marcus Moore:

And when were you there?

Marcus Moore:

I was there from like 2000, uh, 11 to 2013.

Marcus Moore:

Okay.

Marcus Moore:

We were on, uh, McCall Court in, um, Elkridge.

Paul Comfort:

And did you work for, who did you actually work directly for then?

Marcus Moore:

Uh, then was, uh, David Van Fosen was the vice

Marcus Moore:

president of, I remember him, um, first Transit, but , through CMRT.

Marcus Moore:

There was a guy by the name of John Powell.

Marcus Moore:

Yes.

Marcus Moore:

He was the, uh.

Marcus Moore:

Uh, CEOI believe of CMRT.

Paul Comfort:

Yeah.

Paul Comfort:

So he was our client.

Paul Comfort:

Again, our path could have almost crossed because I was managing

Paul Comfort:

that Operation Howard Area Transit.

Paul Comfort:

Remember, it was hats for a while.

Paul Comfort:

Hats, yes.

Paul Comfort:

And then Howard Transit, we got that green, the green buses we created

Paul Comfort:

that Howard Green color, it was the only transportation system in

Paul Comfort:

America run by a Chamber of Commerce.

Paul Comfort:

Mm-hmm.

Paul Comfort:

Who had the CMRT logo?

Paul Comfort:

I had a guy named Ron Scots that was there.

Paul Comfort:

Yes, yes.

Paul Comfort:

I, I still see him.

Paul Comfort:

And Ray somebody was our, was our director there, but I worked for the contractor.

Marcus Moore:

Yes.

Paul Comfort:

But it was yellow.

Paul Comfort:

Yes.

Paul Comfort:

And, and then yellow became, you know, uh, Conex.

Paul Comfort:

Yes.

Paul Comfort:

Which became Veolia.

Paul Comfort:

Yep.

Paul Comfort:

Which became Transdab.

Paul Comfort:

And so you were there

Marcus Moore:

for first I was there for First Transit.

Marcus Moore:

Okay.

Marcus Moore:

And also working with John Powell was a guy by the name of, uh, Maynard Nash.

Marcus Moore:

Oh, I know.

Marcus Moore:

Maynard Maynard was working with Ron SCOs and all, we were all there together.

Marcus Moore:

This's such a funny small world man.

Marcus Moore:

This is

Paul Comfort:

so, how many years did you do that?

Marcus Moore:

Uh, there with first transit in about five and a half years.

Marcus Moore:

Okay.

Marcus Moore:

Before I went to National Express and they said, go west, young man.

Marcus Moore:

And I went to Vallejo, California.

Marcus Moore:

And

Paul Comfort:

that's where you met my buddy John Duncan, right?

Paul Comfort:

Yes.

Paul Comfort:

I met John Duncan there.

Paul Comfort:

That's right.

Paul Comfort:

Yeah.

Paul Comfort:

Yes.

Marcus Moore:

Yep.

Marcus Moore:

So ran, um, uh, Vallejo or, you know, in, uh, Vallejo.

Marcus Moore:

California.

Marcus Moore:

California.

Marcus Moore:

California.

Marcus Moore:

Yeah.

Marcus Moore:

So on of transportation in Magnesia, Vallejo, California.

Marcus Moore:

And, um, we ran that operation for, for about six months.

Marcus Moore:

Okay.

Marcus Moore:

Before I decided to go to South Florida.

Marcus Moore:

Ah.

Marcus Moore:

And then was another contract and we were.

Marcus Moore:

The sub, uh, contractor for the Hollywood Fort Lauderdale airport for their

Marcus Moore:

transportation to the parking garages.

Marcus Moore:

Oh yeah.

Marcus Moore:

We were

Paul Comfort:

just there.

Paul Comfort:

We just filmed there.

Paul Comfort:

Wow.

Paul Comfort:

That's a great, great location, huh?

Paul Comfort:

Cory Lonergan, who is CEO of Broward County Transit.

Paul Comfort:

Okay.

Paul Comfort:

She just did the podcast.

Paul Comfort:

Yeah.

Paul Comfort:

And then what?

Marcus Moore:

Uh, then came to good old city of Annapolis in, uh,

Marcus Moore:

December of 2015 and been here since.

Marcus Moore:

So 10 years, baby.

Marcus Moore:

10 years just about here.

Marcus Moore:

Yes sir. Yeah.

Paul Comfort:

That's amazing.

Paul Comfort:

And what's it like running a system in the state capitol?

Marcus Moore:

It is so amazing to see so many different folks that come here.

Marcus Moore:

We have a melting pot of, of visitors, of residents, of business owners.

Marcus Moore:

It's really just a great place to be and in our own, uh, backyard with

Marcus Moore:

the employees that, um, I work with.

Marcus Moore:

The same kind of melting pot is really just great with the, you know, if you

Marcus Moore:

want great seafood, you come out here.

Marcus Moore:

That's right.

Marcus Moore:

Take, you know Right on the, uh, Chesapeake Bay.

Marcus Moore:

We just had some, so we did really just have some, one of the local restaurants.

Marcus Moore:

Yeah.

Marcus Moore:

So the Saturn River going into Chesapeake Bay that goes

Marcus Moore:

into, uh, Atlantic Ocean, who

Paul Comfort:

could

Marcus Moore:

ask for anything

Paul Comfort:

more?

Paul Comfort:

Yeah.

Paul Comfort:

If you, and this is really the sailing capital of the world, right?

Paul Comfort:

This is the sailing capital.

Paul Comfort:

Yeah.

Paul Comfort:

So many sail boats here.

Paul Comfort:

Yep.

Marcus Moore:

Just at our boat show, uh, back

Marcus Moore:

in April, and then the Fall boat show with the Power Boat sailboats in October.

Marcus Moore:

Uh, please come out.

Marcus Moore:

We're reimagining a city dock.

Marcus Moore:

It's gonna be a, a world class, uh, event area.

Marcus Moore:

Really?

Marcus Moore:

I didn't know that.

Marcus Moore:

Yeah, that's being redeveloped right now.

Marcus Moore:

Oh, that's awesome, man.

Marcus Moore:

Yep.

Paul Comfort:

In about two and a half years.

Paul Comfort:

We should be done.

Paul Comfort:

For those people who don't know, the Annapolis downtown area is like.

Paul Comfort:

Nowhere else in the country.

Paul Comfort:

Mm-hmm.

Paul Comfort:

Uh, and uh, the inner Harbor area is just fantastic.

Paul Comfort:

And it's right next to the United States Naval Academy.

Paul Comfort:

It sure is.

Paul Comfort:

Which is why we're up here on the garage roof today, right?

Marcus Moore:

Yes,

Paul Comfort:

there was.

Paul Comfort:

So when we come back in just a minute, we'll talk more about the

Paul Comfort:

Naval Academy and the role of transit in moving, uh, a state capital.

Paul Comfort:

Hey friends, it's Paul Comfort host of Transit Unplugged, and I've

Paul Comfort:

got some exciting news to share.

Paul Comfort:

Did you know that Transit Unplugged is now a hybrid podcast experience?

Paul Comfort:

That's right.

Paul Comfort:

We're not just in your ears anymore.

Paul Comfort:

We're on your screens too.

Paul Comfort:

Each week on YouTube now you'll find a brand new version of our show

Paul Comfort:

featuring a video intro from me, plus behind the scenes photos and

Paul Comfort:

visuals of our guests when we record interviews on location in person.

Paul Comfort:

From transit centers to waterfronts and boardrooms,

Paul Comfort:

we're taking you there visually.

Paul Comfort:

Adding a whole new layer to the storytelling and the response

Paul Comfort:

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Paul Comfort:

Thousands of people are already watching and listening on YouTube and most

Paul Comfort:

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Paul Comfort:

So if you haven't yet, take a moment to check U.S. out on YouTube.

Paul Comfort:

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Paul Comfort:

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We're making transit media more dynamic, more accessible, and more fun than ever.

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And I'd love to have you along for the ride.

Paul Comfort:

Now let's get back to the conversation.

Paul Comfort:

We're back with Marcus Moore who is the head of transportation

Paul Comfort:

for the city of Annapolis.

Paul Comfort:

Marcus, tell U.S. about the Naval Academy and uh, and their

Paul Comfort:

interaction with the city, et cetera.

Marcus Moore:

Yeah, thanks for asking.

Marcus Moore:

The Naval Academy has been here founded, uh, back in like 1845 and it's really a

Marcus Moore:

gemstone here and it really gives a lot of prestige to the city of Annapolis.

Marcus Moore:

Yes, they're a great partner to be here with them.

Marcus Moore:

With, with U.S. and the Naval Academy, as most people know, they train, uh,

Marcus Moore:

officers for the, uh, the Marine Corps and the United States Navy, of course,

Marcus Moore:

right to, to be officers and go out in the world and serve, serve our country.

Marcus Moore:

Uh, it's really a great partner with them.

Marcus Moore:

Um, as you take a look downtown, you'll sometimes see them walking

Marcus Moore:

about with their families.

Marcus Moore:

Yeah.

Marcus Moore:

The mid shipmen, their white uniform.

Marcus Moore:

I saw a bunch of today.

Marcus Moore:

Yeah.

Marcus Moore:

Yeah.

Marcus Moore:

Well, this is commissioning.

Marcus Moore:

We, uh, uh, Paul, um, and we we're looking forward to seeing all of them tell U.S.

Marcus Moore:

what that means.

Marcus Moore:

Commissioning week is when these, uh, graduates become commissioned officers

Marcus Moore:

and they get their deployment somewhere around the country, around the world,

Marcus Moore:

uh, to serve, uh, the country as they just got their, um, their degree here.

Marcus Moore:

Yeah, so yesterday we had the practice of the Blue Angels.

Marcus Moore:

Today is the show, , And Friday is actually the commissioning ceremony.

Marcus Moore:

At the United States Naval Academy parking lot, , and this is a

Marcus Moore:

really big time for the city.

Marcus Moore:

It brings a lot of visitors and guests, uh, media and light to

Marcus Moore:

just see this kind of event.

Marcus Moore:

Yeah.

Marcus Moore:

It's really exciting to be around this.

Marcus Moore:

It is.

Paul Comfort:

Yeah.

Paul Comfort:

For those of you who are listening, we are, uh, we're also filming an

Paul Comfort:

episode of our television show, transit Unplugged tv, and I'm here

Paul Comfort:

with our video director, Jaime Quadra.

Paul Comfort:

Hello Paul and a bunch of other folks.

Paul Comfort:

Congratulations for the latest award, teleworks.

Paul Comfort:

That's right.

Paul Comfort:

And, uh, got some other friends with U.S.

Paul Comfort:

too, who are helping U.S. film.

Paul Comfort:

And um, , you'll be able to see what Marcus has been talking

Paul Comfort:

about because we're filming here.

Paul Comfort:

We'll show you the city, we'll show you Actually, we're gonna

Paul Comfort:

show one of your free buses.

Paul Comfort:

Tell U.S. about that.

Marcus Moore:

Oh yes.

Marcus Moore:

The Magenta Shuttle PA is our free services.

Marcus Moore:

Uh, it's a circulator bus, uh, it's called the Magenta Downtown Shuttle.

Marcus Moore:

It starts just outside of the city at Park Place.

Marcus Moore:

Garage runs about every 20 minutes, every single day.

Marcus Moore:

Some abbreviated schedules on weekends, like Sunday, eight to eight, uh,

Marcus Moore:

Saturdays, eight until midnight, , Monday through Friday, , six o'clock in the

Marcus Moore:

morning until 11 o'clock at night.

Marcus Moore:

So it's a great shuttle service.

Marcus Moore:

It's a great shuttle.

Marcus Moore:

It, the whole loop is about a mile and a half.

Marcus Moore:

And it takes about 20 minutes to go from start to finish.

Marcus Moore:

So jump on and off.

Marcus Moore:

There's a bunch of stops along the way.

Marcus Moore:

Look for the magenta shuttle, , and stop and yeah.

Marcus Moore:

Flag it down and jump right on.

Marcus Moore:

Oh,

Paul Comfort:

that's awesome.

Paul Comfort:

So we are like standing, it's not really sunny today, but in the shadow, let's say

Paul Comfort:

metaphorically of the state capitol dome.

Paul Comfort:

Oh gosh, yes.

Paul Comfort:

Uh, which is just phenomenal looking.

Paul Comfort:

If you, if you've never seen the Annapolis Dome of our state capitol,

Paul Comfort:

it is just a tremendous place when.

Paul Comfort:

When I was CEO of the MTA, I spent a lot of time there

Paul Comfort:

testifying before the legislature.

Paul Comfort:

Uh, but what's it like having them come into town where you've got the delegates

Paul Comfort:

and the state senators and the governor and his staff all, I mean, right here,

Paul Comfort:

right in your system sometimes, I'm sure.

Marcus Moore:

Absolutely, Paul.

Marcus Moore:

So for those a hundred days, starting in the early part of January, all to

Marcus Moore:

the middle of April, um, the legislative session, all kinds of bills, all kinds

Marcus Moore:

of, um, legislators from around the state are going to descend on the.

Marcus Moore:

State capital to introduce your bills and hopefully get 'em through committee.

Marcus Moore:

And as you've been, , saying Paul as an advocate for public transportation,

Marcus Moore:

um, those are some really big bills that we want to get through to.

Marcus Moore:

Um, we wanna really make sure we have a avenue to get those that have an option

Marcus Moore:

out of their cars and ride the bus.

Marcus Moore:

Yeah.

Marcus Moore:

How do they do that when it's safe, reliable, and

Marcus Moore:

convenient for them to do so?

Marcus Moore:

Right now you get a lot more of just, uh, folks that you know

Marcus Moore:

that they're dependent on it.

Marcus Moore:

So being able to be able to increase the, um, the footprint of what we

Marcus Moore:

have and where we go is what we want to do to get people outta the cars.

Marcus Moore:

Absolutely.

Paul Comfort:

Let's talk some about your system a little bit more.

Paul Comfort:

How many drivers?

Paul Comfort:

The union, I think that's interesting.

Paul Comfort:

They're, they're in a, uh, so tell U.S. a little bit about that.

Marcus Moore:

Yeah.

Marcus Moore:

Our system here, um, we're probably, we're considered a follow, a locally operated

Marcus Moore:

transit system, better known as a lot.

Marcus Moore:

There's about 23 lots in the state of Maryland from western Maryland Cumberland,

Marcus Moore:

all the way down to Ocean City.

Marcus Moore:

So we're one of those and we have about 30 full-time drivers and

Marcus Moore:

about a dozen part-time drivers and they are part of the union.

Marcus Moore:

And being a full-time, , employee of the city of Annapolis, you're

Marcus Moore:

part of the state pension system.

Paul Comfort:

Yeah, I love that.

Paul Comfort:

Um, and

Marcus Moore:

then being vested 10 years to become vested to be a part of that.

Marcus Moore:

And what's the name of their union?

Marcus Moore:

Afme, A FS.

Marcus Moore:

Me ASME is a, uh, union that represents our bus drivers and our mechanical

Paul Comfort:

state, county municipal employees.

Paul Comfort:

Those kind of things.

Paul Comfort:

Right, exactly.

Paul Comfort:

Yeah.

Paul Comfort:

Yeah, that's interesting.

Paul Comfort:

And um, so you got the drivers and then who else do you have?

Paul Comfort:

Mechanics and

Marcus Moore:

dispatchers?

Marcus Moore:

Right.

Marcus Moore:

We have the supervisor dispatchers that give the direction to the, uh,

Marcus Moore:

operators when they're on the road.

Marcus Moore:

And we have a fleet of mechanics that actually take care of our buses.

Marcus Moore:

Uh, we can do about 90, 95% of all of our, um, repairs in-house, certain things we

Marcus Moore:

have to send out to be, uh, a heavy lift.

Marcus Moore:

But we do have an operation that has, uh, dispatchers, supervisors,

Marcus Moore:

drivers, and mechanics about a staff of about 52 to 55 employees total.

Marcus Moore:

All right, Marcus.

Paul Comfort:

So, um, tell U.S. about the service area that you serve.

Marcus Moore:

Yeah.

Marcus Moore:

Even though the city of Annapolis is about five and a half square miles,

Marcus Moore:

we have about 40,000 residents.

Marcus Moore:

We're a little bit more far reaching into the county and uh,

Marcus Moore:

we're connecting with other, uh, services to get you to other places.

Marcus Moore:

So, you know, going out to like the, um, community college,

Marcus Moore:

which is in, uh, Arnold.

Marcus Moore:

Oh, yeah.

Marcus Moore:

On brought too, yeah.

Marcus Moore:

I, yeah.

Marcus Moore:

Down that direction Or to the mall, which is actually Save Annapolis,

Marcus Moore:

but is actually in the county.

Marcus Moore:

Okay, so we have five and a half square miles and about 40,000 residents.

Marcus Moore:

But looking at not just the residents, but the businesses that are here,

Marcus Moore:

and the Naval Academy is one of the big, uh, employers as well as Anne

Marcus Moore:

Arundel, uh, county Medical Center.

Marcus Moore:

Do Midshipman ride free?

Marcus Moore:

Uh, that is a good question.

Marcus Moore:

And you know what the answer is?

Marcus Moore:

Uh, yes.

Marcus Moore:

Is that right?

Marcus Moore:

Uh, matriculating student?

Marcus Moore:

Well, K through 12.

Marcus Moore:

Yeah.

Marcus Moore:

Rides free during the week.

Marcus Moore:

Okay.

Marcus Moore:

During school sessions.

Marcus Moore:

6:00 AM to 6:00 PM but there is a, uh, student rate of $1.

Marcus Moore:

Okay.

Marcus Moore:

To approve.

Marcus Moore:

So, yeah.

Marcus Moore:

So the local college is like St.

Marcus Moore:

John's?

Marcus Moore:

Yes.

Marcus Moore:

Which I believe is the second oldest college in the United States.

Marcus Moore:

That's right.

Marcus Moore:

Yeah.

Marcus Moore:

They're big liberal arts school.

Marcus Moore:

Very

Paul Comfort:

well respected.

Paul Comfort:

Yes.

Paul Comfort:

Yeah, there's so many cool things around there, isn't there?

Paul Comfort:

Just the cobblestones, just the, the brick streets?

Paul Comfort:

Yes.

Paul Comfort:

, The downtown area, the main street here is phenomenal.

Paul Comfort:

Um, and you're, you're under the city of Annapolis and you kinda

Paul Comfort:

report up through the mayor?

Paul Comfort:

Yes.

Marcus Moore:

Uh, through the city manager

Paul Comfort:

and the mayor.

Paul Comfort:

Yes.

Paul Comfort:

That's good.

Paul Comfort:

And you all connect in with your regional transportation partners,

Paul Comfort:

like the RTA with Jason Kwan.

Paul Comfort:

I mean, we just interviewed him the other day.

Marcus Moore:

Uh, yeah, we wanna make sure we have, um, you know, those invisible

Marcus Moore:

barriers that we can connect and get to, like Crofton or to, um, other.

Marcus Moore:

, Employment hubs.

Marcus Moore:

Yeah.

Marcus Moore:

Arundel Mills Mall run.

Marcus Moore:

Arundel Mills Mall.

Marcus Moore:

Yeah.

Marcus Moore:

Annapolis Mall probably.

Paul Comfort:

Yeah.

Marcus Moore:

So connecting with Howard County, um, Anne Arundel

Marcus Moore:

County and of course Baltimore City.

Marcus Moore:

They have the number 70 bus here, Paul, that one of their longest

Marcus Moore:

routes from per capco to Annapolis so we can get, you know, other places

Marcus Moore:

for employment and getting to the airport and all that stuff there.

Paul Comfort:

Yeah, Annapolis is like right in the middle of Baltimore,

Paul Comfort:

Washington corridor, isn't it?

Paul Comfort:

It it really is.

Paul Comfort:

Yeah.

Paul Comfort:

Yeah.

Paul Comfort:

So the MTA brings people down here from Baltimore, right?

Paul Comfort:

On routes.

Paul Comfort:

They, they do, yep.

Paul Comfort:

That

Marcus Moore:

one bus that does come every single day about, uh,

Marcus Moore:

once every hour and a half or so, 20

Paul Comfort:

minutes.

Paul Comfort:

I

Paul Comfort:

And you mentioned , you're piloting a, um, on demand.

Paul Comfort:

You wanna tell U.S. about that and what do you think is gonna happen with that?

Marcus Moore:

Yeah, the on demand service is, um, a subscription service.

Marcus Moore:

You can call our office to actually, uh, make a reservation or you can

Marcus Moore:

download the app and I'll send you information, Paul, on that.

Marcus Moore:

But you can download the app and actually call that, uh, bus for

Marcus Moore:

yourself and they'll tell you when a bus will actually be available to come.

Marcus Moore:

Um.

Marcus Moore:

Pick you up.

Marcus Moore:

So what you actually do is go on.

Marcus Moore:

Oh, she's doing it right now for me.

Marcus Moore:

Yep.

Marcus Moore:

You can book your up.

Marcus Moore:

You show the app here.

Marcus Moore:

Okay.

Marcus Moore:

And it says where we are right now.

Marcus Moore:

It says where I am at 1 45.

Marcus Moore:

Um, main.

Marcus Moore:

Okay.

Marcus Moore:

Main.

Marcus Moore:

Yeah.

Marcus Moore:

Just

Paul Comfort:

like an Uber.

Paul Comfort:

It'll tell you where you're at.

Paul Comfort:

Right.

Paul Comfort:

It'll

Marcus Moore:

tell you where you're at.

Marcus Moore:

You tell U.S. where you want to go and it'll tell you how close.

Marcus Moore:

'cause it's not like Uber will come right to you, but there's a geo fence.

Marcus Moore:

It'll tell you where you need to go.

Marcus Moore:

Yeah.

Marcus Moore:

Which may tell U.S. uh, Gorman Street at Main Street.

Marcus Moore:

Pick up the bus.

Marcus Moore:

Oh.

Marcus Moore:

It'll give you a corner spot to go to it.

Marcus Moore:

It will.

Marcus Moore:

Okay.

Marcus Moore:

It'll tell you when your bus is coming.

Marcus Moore:

You can actually track your bus.

Marcus Moore:

And this is the same fair Paul as our regular fix route buses.

Marcus Moore:

Wow.

Marcus Moore:

So $2, or if you buy a daily pass, weekly pass, you can tap

Marcus Moore:

that and go along that way.

Marcus Moore:

Seniors are half price students.

Marcus Moore:

, Disabled and handicapped are half price as well.

Marcus Moore:

So $1, one way.

Marcus Moore:

That's awesome.

Paul Comfort:

So as I mentioned to you earlier, I, I grew up here in

Paul Comfort:

Annapolis when I was very young.

Paul Comfort:

My dad, we lived over in, uh, my dad had a job here in Eastport, , as

Paul Comfort:

a pastor of a church over there.

Paul Comfort:

And so we lived in the parsonage mm-hmm.

Paul Comfort:

Uh, in Eastport and um.

Paul Comfort:

I used to come over that bridge, but eSports, like

Paul Comfort:

it's part of Annapolis, right?

Paul Comfort:

Still it's, yes.

Paul Comfort:

Yeah.

Paul Comfort:

But it's very preppy.

Paul Comfort:

I hear.

Paul Comfort:

Yes.

Paul Comfort:

The houses are very expensive and

Marcus Moore:

Yeah, right on the water, that's is the next thing you know.

Marcus Moore:

So it does get kind of bottleneck when you come out to kinda watch

Marcus Moore:

the Blue Angels or things like that.

Marcus Moore:

Yeah.

Marcus Moore:

Um, but you have bus service all back in there?

Marcus Moore:

We, we do have bus service down there.

Marcus Moore:

We have a lot of service that goes from the mall to Eastport is a

Marcus Moore:

turnaround point to come back out.

Marcus Moore:

Okay.

Marcus Moore:

So three of our routes actually do serve, um, Eastport all the

Marcus Moore:

way to the mall and coming up.

Marcus Moore:

Um, main Street that you saw earlier,

Paul Comfort:

and you mentioned over lunch that you, um, you just

Paul Comfort:

bought a couple electric buses.

Paul Comfort:

We do.

Paul Comfort:

Tell me about that.

Marcus Moore:

We're really excited to have those in our fleet.

Marcus Moore:

We have two 30 foot, , BYD, , buses that are fully electric, but they're made

Paul Comfort:

here in America.

Paul Comfort:

What's the name of the company?

Paul Comfort:

Uh, the

Marcus Moore:

company is our Ride.

Marcus Moore:

And they're in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and this little built, um,

Marcus Moore:

right here in the United States.

Marcus Moore:

Yeah.

Marcus Moore:

And

Paul Comfort:

who's the sales guy?

Paul Comfort:

Our buddy

Marcus Moore:

that used to work with U.S. Uh, Carl Wheeler.

Marcus Moore:

Carl, that's, do you remember Carl?

Marcus Moore:

Yeah.

Marcus Moore:

Man, he's my guy.

Marcus Moore:

I like him.

Marcus Moore:

Yeah.

Marcus Moore:

So how's that working for you?

Paul Comfort:

It's

Marcus Moore:

working out very well.

Marcus Moore:

Yeah.

Marcus Moore:

Okay.

Marcus Moore:

Uh, people love it, you know, clean, clean, green and quiet.

Marcus Moore:

We have, is our logo on there, especially like

Paul Comfort:

in a downtown area, like Yes.

Paul Comfort:

Downtown

Marcus Moore:

Annapolis.

Marcus Moore:

They probably love that.

Marcus Moore:

They do love it.

Marcus Moore:

Yeah.

Marcus Moore:

Yeah.

Marcus Moore:

We're trying to change our carbon footprint and making, you know,

Marcus Moore:

the place a little bit better for the people that come behind U.S.

Marcus Moore:

Yeah, we're doing

Paul Comfort:

our share.

Paul Comfort:

Well, that's wonderful.

Marcus Moore:

Anything else you wanna talk about?

Paul Comfort:

I

Marcus Moore:

can't think of anything else though, Paul, thanks for coming

Marcus Moore:

out and thanks for having U.S. You know?

Marcus Moore:

Yeah.

Marcus Moore:

Coming down to see U.S.

Julie Gates:

Thank you for listening to this week's episode

Julie Gates:

of the Transit Unplugged Podcast.

Julie Gates:

We're so glad you're here.

Julie Gates:

My name is Julie Gates.

Julie Gates:

I'm the executive producer of the show, and our goal is to create

Julie Gates:

programs that promote the great things going on in the transit industry

Julie Gates:

by providing you with behind the scenes access with industry executive

Julie Gates:

leadership so we can work together to find innovative industry solutions.

Julie Gates:

We would love to have you be a part of the Transit Unplugged community by

Julie Gates:

having you sign up for our newsletter.

Julie Gates:

Head to the show notes to find the link.

Julie Gates:

Thanks for listening to Transit Unplugged with Paul Comfort, our favorite transit

Julie Gates:

evangelist, and we'll catch you next week.

Julie Gates:

Thanks for tuning in.

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Transit Unplugged
Leading podcast on public transit hosted by Paul Comfort, SVP Modaxo.

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