Welcome to Go Howard! Formerly Howard Commuter Solutions, we’re your resource for information on ridesharing, transit, biking, and other alternatives to driving by yourself in Howard County.
Go Howard is the Transportation Demand Management (TDM) program of Howard County, Maryland, funded by the Maryland Department of Transportation / Maryland Transit Administration and the Howard County Office of Transportation.
What’s happening?
Car Free Day is a worldwide event that encourages greener methods of travel like biking, walking and taking transit. Carpooling, vanpooling and working from home count too! This Wednesday, leave it parked, HoCo!
To celebrate, you can try Howard County Bikeshare for FREE with these promocodes: TryABike and Roundtrip. Promocodes are case-sensitive and valid until September 30th, 2021 for Pay Per Ride Pass members.
It’s Cycle September — a month-long competition from the folks at Love to Ride to get more people riding bikes. Love to Ride is a fun, free online platform which encourages and supports individuals, workplaces and communities to ride their bikes. It doesn’t matter if you ride every day or if you haven’t been on a bike in years. There are plenty of tools to help overcome personal barriers to riding a bike – from tailored emails to tips articles and even Quick Courses, there’s something for everyone. You only have to ride for 10 minutes to get into the prize drawings and help your organization climb the leaderboard. Plus, you can ride anywhere any time – it doesn’t have to be a commute to work, any bike ride counts. Register for free and get riding today!
This October, the Howard County Office of Transportation will host two virtual Complete Streets Design Manual Workshops. The first workshop, scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on October 14th, will provide attendees with an introduction to the County’s Complete Streets Design Manual and a better understanding on how the Complete Streets policy translates into the design of future roads for cars, transit, bicycles, pedestrians and others. The second workshop will take place on October 21st at 2:00 p.m. and will provide a technical overview of the Design Manual. While this second workshop is geared towards technical professionals and others who use the Design Manual on a regular basis, the general public is welcome to attend. To register for either workshop and/or for more information about the Complete Streets Design Manual, visit www.howardcountymd.gov/DM-updates.
All Howard County Public School System middle and high school students are now able to ride Regional Transportation Agency of Central Maryland buses for FREE! Visit your school office for details on how to get your FREE student bus pass good through next September. More info: howardcountymd.gov/News082521
Attention Regional Transportation Agency of Central Maryland riders! The new Howard County Circuit Courthouse, located at 9250 Judicial Way, Ellicott City, MD 21043, is served by the Old Annapolis Road/Bendix Road stop on Route 403.
The Regional Transportation Agency of Central Maryland will hold a virtual public meeting on Thursday, July 15th, beginning at 6:00 p.m. to discuss its proposed service changes this fall. The RTA is proposing adjustments and modifications to certain routes in order to improve reliability, expand travel options and service connectivity, and decrease transfer times between core routes. The September 2021 Service Update largely focuses on better utilizing current resources to make more residential and commercial areas accessible to its services, including Catonsville, Beltsville and Muirkirk. Considerable attention has been paid to maintain hourly frequencies in the network where they exist, but to also better time route arrivals and departures from major locations so that connections and transfers are shorter and more dependable. If approved, the changes will take effect on Sunday, September 5, 2021.
For more information, including how to attend and/or submit written testimony, visit www.transitrta.com/fall2021/.
Mobile ticketing is now available for RTA riders
Interested in finding out what we’re doing in Downtown Columbia? Our TDM Specialist talked with the Downtown Columbia Partnership about all things transportation in DTC.
Howard County Bikeshare reopened August 14th with enhanced cleaning procedures. More good news: Because of the temporary closure, annual memberships will be extended by 3 months.
You must wear a mask when using public transportation.
The Howard County Office of Transportation is preparing for e-scooter deployment this summer in designated areas of Columbia. Find out more.
Telework Tips
Commuter Choice Maryland’s Telework Guide
Earn cash by choosing a smart commute!
incenTrip is a multimodal trip planning app that rewards points for each commute trip you plan and take during the a.m. and p.m. peak commuting times and log into the app. Washington area commuters can earn up to $10 after completing 10 trips – or save your points to earn $50. Rinse and repeat. It’s that simple! Up to $600 can be earned per calendar year. You must have a Commuter Connections account to earn cash – but don’t worry, registration is free and easy.
Sign-up now for Commuter Connections and link your account to the incenTrip app, available at the Apple App Store and Google Play.
Looking for options outside Howard County? Try MDOT’s Commuter Choice Maryland.