LocalLink 89 is a
bus route
A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used i ...
operated by the
Maryland Transit Administration
The Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) is a state-operated mass transit administration in Maryland, and is part of the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT). The MTA operates a comprehensive transit system throughout the Washington� ...
in
Baltimore
Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...
and its suburbs, mostly along
Reisterstown Road. The line currently runs from the
Reisterstown Plaza Metro Subway Station to the
Owings Mills Town Center. The line replaced original Route 59 under BaltimoreLink, and was a split-off from
Route M-9, and resembles the pre-1997 route of Route M-9. It is the successor to several other bus routes and streetcars.
History
Route 59 has only been operating since February 17, 2008. Prior to this date, the no. 59 designation was never used for a bus operating on Reisterstown Road. The only other bus route in Baltimore transit history that had the no. 59 designation was the Colgate Shuttle, a service that operated during rush hour from 1948 to 1952. But the Reisterstown Road corridor between Pikesville and Owings Mills has a history of being served by many other bus routes and streetcar lines.
1916 to 1932
Service on Reisterstown Road was provided by the
No. 5 Streetcar Line, which ran from
Emory Grove to
Patterson Park
Patterson Park is an urban park in Southeast Baltimore, Maryland, United States, adjacent to the neighborhoods of Canton, Highlandtown, Patterson Park, and Butchers Hill. It is bordered by East Baltimore Street, Eastern Avenue, South Pa ...
, providing all transit service than offered along any parts of Reisterstown Road. The no. 5 streetcar was had the most northern point of all Baltimore streetcars. At this time, the
Owings Mills
Owings Mills is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. It is a suburb of Baltimore. Per the 2020 census, the population was 35,674. Owings Mills is home to the northern terminus o ...
area was minimally developed.
1932 to 1948
In 1932, the no. 5 streetcar was shortened to
Pikesville
Pikesville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. Pikesville is just northwest of the Baltimore city limits. It is the northwestern suburb closest to Baltimore.
The population was 30,764 at the 2010 cen ...
. Service between Pikesville and Emory Grove was provided by Bus Route M (no relationship to ''M-lines'').
1948 to 1959
In 1948, the no. 5 streetcar was completely converted to a bus operated. The new line was identified as the no. 5/7 line.
1959 to 1984
The
no. 7 bus line provided service on all parts of Reisterstown Road from Glyndon to Pennsylvania and North Avenues, then continued along Pennsylvania Avenue to
downtown Baltimore
Downtown Baltimore is the central business district of the Baltimore, city of Baltimore traditionally bounded by Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard (Baltimore), Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard to the west, List of streets in Baltimore#F, Frank ...
and
Canton along the same route as the present no. 7 line. Even after the no. 7 line was shortened in 1984 in favor of shorter
Metro feeder buses, the no. 7 line continued to operate along this full route until 2001, when the Metro connection buses started to operate 7 days a week, some 24 hours a day.
1984 to 1987
Following the opening of the
Baltimore Metro, a new series of feeder buses were developed to bring riders into Metro stations. During this time,
Route P-4 operated along virtually the same route as Route 59, with the exception of the deviation into the Owings Mills Metro Station, which at the time, did not exist. Additionally,
Route P-1 overlapped along Reisterstown Road, then operated to Reisterstown.
1987 to 1997
During the years 1987 to 1997, Route M-9 operated over the present route of Route 59. The line started by running from Reisterstown Plaza to the
Owings Mills Metro Subway Station at most times, with trips before 9 AM continuing to the
Owings Mills Town Center. After 9 AM, service to between the Metro Station and Town Center was provided by a shuttle identified as
Route M-17, no relationship to the current
Route M-17 that serves other parts of the
Owings Mills
Owings Mills is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. It is a suburb of Baltimore. Per the 2020 census, the population was 35,674. Owings Mills is home to the northern terminus o ...
area.
In June 1992, the Route M-17 shuttle was discontinued, and service was provided by extending all trips on Routes M-9 and
M-16 to the Owings Mills Town Center. At the same time,
Route M-15, which duplicated service on Route M-9 and several other routes, was discontinued. The only section of Route M-15 that was not covered by any other bus lines was a branch of selected trips to Business Center at Owings Mills. To replace this service, six daily M-9 trips were extended to this location. Currently, this service is not provided by Route 59, but by
Route M-17.
1997 to 2008
In 1997, Route M-9 was combined with Route M-16. A single line was formed that operated between the Reisterstown Plaza Metro Subway Station and
Reisterstown
Reisterstown is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Baltimore and Carroll counties, Maryland, United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 25,968.
Founded by German immigrant John Reister in 1758, Reister ...
, with all trips operating via the Owings Mills Town Center. A new
Route M-17 was formed to provide service on all special branches.
In 1999, the destination signs of the buses bound for Reisterstown were marked ''"Glyndon"'' in order to avoid confusion with those in the opposite direction marked ''"Reisterstown Plaza Station"''.
In September 2001, all Metro connection buses, except those that operated weekdays only, were expanded to operate 7 days a week for the first time. The schedules of all at the time, including Route M-9, matched those of Saturday service.
2008 to 2017
On February 17, 2008, the M-9 line was split into two new routes: nos. 59 and
56. These routes resemble the former original Routes M-9 and M-16, respectively. This was done in order to improve
schedule adherence
In public transportation, schedule adherence or on-time performance refers to the level of success of the service (such as a bus or train) remaining on the published schedule. On time performance, sometimes referred to as on time running, is nor ...
on both routes.
On August 30, 2009 Route M-17 was discontinued and service along
Red Run Boulevard was replaced by extending peak hour service on Route 59 to Red Land Court. These trips do not enter the Owings Mills Mall parking lot (Mill Run Circle), but pass Owings Mills Mall on Red Run Boulevard.
2017 to present
BaltimoreLink renamed Route 59 to Route 89, and expanded the route to have a southern terminus at
Rogers Avenue station.
References
{{MTA Maryland bus
Maryland Transit Administration bus routes
2008 establishments in Maryland