Baltimore Transit Company

The Baltimore Transit Company (BTCO) was a privately owned public transit operator that provided streetcar and bus service in Baltimore from 1935. It was the successor to the old United Railways and Electric Company, formed in 1899 to consolidate and operate Baltimore's streetcar lines.^[5] The company was purchased in 1948 by National City Lines and the streetcar system was then run down in favor of buses, a process repeated in many places, which became known as the Great American Streetcar Scandal. The last streetcar ran in 1963.^[6] Between 1940–1959, Baltimore Transit also operated trolley buses (or "trackless trolleys") on six lines, including Howard Street and Federal Street.^[7]

BTCO was absorbed by what is now the Maryland Transit Administration in 1970. The BTC oversaw the elimination of streetcar service in favor of bus service in 1963 when the last streetcar routes, the number 8 providing service from Catonsville to Towson and the number 15 (Overlea to Walbrook Junction) were eliminated on November 3, 1963.^[5]

In the midst of the Civil Rights Movement, the BTCO fired a white bus driver who claimed to be the Grand Wizard of the Baltimore Ku Klux Klan. A labor arbitrator ruled in favor of BTCO in this firing, which was in part spurred by other white drivers threatening to strike if the man was not dismissed.^[8]

Old Court Bus Lines

Old Court Bus Lines was a service that provided van transport in northwest Baltimore County.^[9] Its lines served places including Stevenson and Villa Julie College. These services have been provided by MTA since 1973, though much of them have been cut back or modified. Bus Route 60 serves Stevenson University, which used to be known as Villa Julie.

Rosedale Passenger Lines

Operated service in eastern Baltimore County.^[9] Most of its services later became a part of Bus Route 23. The only one still provided by MTA is service to Victory Villa, on Route 4.

Dundalk Bus Lines

Dundalk Bus Lines provided service in various parts of southeast Baltimore County between 1940 and 1972.^[10] MTA serves some of these areas with Bus Route 4.

McMahon Services

Operated in northeast Baltimore County to locales such as Lutherville and Jacksonville. The only route incorporated by MTA was Route 19A,^[9] which later became known as Route 105. Discontinued in 2005.

Job Express Transit

Operated several routes during the 1960s. Most notably, Route H became known as the #7 Rosewood Express serving Rosewood Center for more than 30 years. The #7 Rosewood Express service ultimately became Route 102 in 2000, and was absorbed by Route M-17 in 2005. Route M-17, along with this service, was eliminated in 2009.

Auxiliary Bus Lines

Operated some of the routes around the city, such as what is now Route 51.

Baltimore Streetcar Museum

A track providing service at the Baltimore Streetcar Museum was designated in 1970 as Route 25, and was renamed LocalLink 25 in June 2017.

June 2017 Bus Redesign

There was a bus redesign in June 2017 called BaltimoreLink.