LocalLink 83 (BaltimoreLink)
| Company type | Public transit bus line |
|---|---|
| Industry | Public transportation |
| Founded | 1984 |
| Headquarters | Baltimore , United States |
Area served | Baltimore and surrounding suburbs, Maryland |
| Products | Transit bus service |
LocalLink 83 is a transit bus line operating within Baltimore and its surrounding suburbs. It runs between the Old Court Metro Subway Station located in Pikesville, Maryland and the Mondawmin Metro Subway Station in Northwest Baltimore, traveling along Old Court Road and Reisterstown Road. This route provides service to important neighborhoods such as Park Heights and stops at the Reisterstown Road Plaza. It replaced the former Bus Route 7, which continued south of Mondawmin and operated along Reisterstown Road outside Metro operating hours until 2001.
Before being designated as LocalLink 83 during the 2017 BaltimoreLink restructuring, it was known as Route 53. Prior to that, it carried the name Route M-2 until its renaming in 2009. Despite these changes, the route's path has remained largely unchanged.
History
The No. 5 Streetcar served Pikesville from 1916 through 1938, running along Park Heights Avenue, which parallels Reisterstown Road. Bus operations on Reisterstown Road inside Baltimore City started in 1929 under Route L, which was incorporated into Route 5/7 in 1948. In 1959, this combined route split: number 5 covered Park Heights Avenue, while number 7 ran along Reisterstown Road and merged with Route 18 (formerly the Pennsylvania Avenue Streetcar Line), providing service to downtown.
The introduction of Route M-2 occurred in 1984 following the opening of the initial segment of the Baltimore Metro and the division of Route 7. This route began near the intersection of Reisterstown and Old Court Roads in Pikesville’s central business area. At that time, since the Old Court Metro Subway Station was not yet operational, Route 77 served the Old Court Road corridor.
In 1987, with the Metro's extension reaching Owings Mills, Route M-2 was lengthened to terminate at Old Court Metro Station. Since that extension, its alignment has remained steady, with only minor timetable changes and the addition of Sunday service in 2001.
In an effort to reduce costs in 1993, MTA closed three Metro stations—including Old Court—at 8 PM daily, causing trains to bypass these stops after that hour. To support affected riders, Route 77 was extended to Pikesville during late evening hours. All previously closed stations resumed evening operations in 2001.
On August 30, 2009, MTA completed its conversion from M-line designations to two-digit route numbers by renaming Route M-2 as Route 53.
References
- Baltimore Streetcars by Herbert H. Harwood and Paul W. Wirtz, page 77, ISBN 0-8018-7190-5