Come enjoy a donut with a fulfilling purpose for the Maryland Food Bank this Thursday.

Guy Henderson

In less than two days, the MTA will join forces with Dunkin’ Donuts to collect food for the Maryland Food Bank (MFB), the only food bank that serves our entire state. From 5:00 a.m. until 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, June 21^st at the Owings Mills Metro Subway Station, representatives from the MTA, Dunkin’ Donuts and the MFB will be on site to accept non-perishable food items or monetary donations in exchange for one soul-satisfying donut and the fulfilling feeling that you’ve helped out a friend you just haven’t met yet.

Maybe that friend is one of the 24% of MFB recipients who must choose between food and medical care. Maybe it’s one of the 178,000 kids who don’t know where their next meal is coming from. Or just maybe it’s someone you actually know who’s been knocked off their feet by an economy that doesn’t seem to know which way is up.

Sure, many of us are confronted with “opportunities” to help out the poor and hungry every which way we look these days. Consider this your chance to contribute to the well being of a great organization – and the more than 50,000 Marylanders it serves each week – without having to do anything more than remember to bring a package or two or three of peanut butter, canned meat, pasta, evaporated milk, infant formula, canned soup, canned fruits and vegetables, rice or breakfast cereal to the Owings Mills Metro stop that one day.

And while you’re enjoying that sweet donut in return for your generosity, give some props to our friends at Dunkin’ Donuts, too. Their civic spirit continues to amaze us here at MTA, and we thank them for making giving to those in need such a delicious experience. 

The rain and strain that messes with MARC Trains

Guy Henderson

Friday night’s near-hurricane-force winds (with at least one tornado reported) played havoc with MARC riders, many of whom faced hours-long delays getting home when trees fell across the tracks in several locations, virtually stopping all train movement for safety’s sake. Add in the complete power outage that struck Union Station, and you have a recipe for irritation that no one bargains for on a Friday night.

Those of us responsible for e-alerts and social media responses in times of public transportation emergencies were made acutely aware of the frustration our riders experienced, with one particularly poignant poster asking us “what am I supposed to tell my child when he asks what time I’m coming home?” We’re sorry for any difficulty you may have endured, as are all of us at MTA.

That said, we’re pleased to report that MTA was able to put into practice the valuable lessons we’ve learned over the past few years regarding timely communications with our customers. We responded as quickly as we could to Tweeted inquiries, and while it was impossible to deliver instantaneous answers – as it always is – updates were posted on a continuous basis as soon as they were available.

Of course, the safety of our customers is always the first responsibility of MTA, and we thank and congratulate the MARC Train engineers who had the good sense to slow down when they had a hunch there would be trouble ahead. That prudence paid off big-time near the Barnesville Station when the engineer instinctively throttled way back, enabling him to avoid hitting the tree laying across the tracks just around the bend. While we’re sure the passengers didn’t enjoy the delay, it sure beats the derailment that might have followed if safety consciousness hadn’t been such an integral element of our DNA.

MTA and CSX employees also went the extra mile for stranded passengers by transporting them to their final station destinations (including Martinsburg, Point of Rocks and Brunswick) by van, bus and whatever other vehicles were available.

June 1 was the official start to hurricane season, and we sincerely hope that the storms that day were not a harbinger of more rough weather to come. Even if they are, though, we’ll continue to do our best to keep you informed of the latest developments, and to help make sure you get where you’re going. No matter what obstacles Mother Nature throws in our way.