Route 15 is the successor to two streetcar lines, numbered in 1899: the west half of
Route 4 on Bloomingdale Road and Edmondson Avenue and the east half of the original Route 15 on Gay Street and Belair Road. The
Baltimore City Passenger Railway opened its
Gay Street Line to Boundary Avenue (now
North Avenue) on December 11, 1861, and through-routed it with the
Baltimore Street Line to
West Baltimore (now part of
Route 20) as the
Red Line. The line was equipped with
cable traction on July 23, 1893, and
electrified in 1899.. An extension along Belair Road was built by the
Central Passenger Railway in the late 1890s, branching off their
Preston Street Line via
Milton Avenue, and the
Baltimore, Gardenville and Bel Air Electric Railway later opened an extension to
Overlea. The
North Baltimore Passenger Railway (later part of the
Baltimore Traction Company) through-routed its
Edmondson Avenue Line and
Monument Street Line (now part of
Route 35, no relationship to the earlier Route 35 on the west side that was absorbed by Route 15 in 1966). An extension of the Edmondson Avenue Line was built north along Poplar Grove Street and Bloomingdale Road to
Walbrook by the
Baltimore and Powhatan Railway and west along Windsor Mill Road by the
Gwynn Falls Railway. It was electrified in 1894. The numbers 15 and 4 were assigned to the two routes in 1899. It was not until December 31, 1935 that Route 4 was truncated to downtown, and the portion on
Monument Street became part of
Route 6. Route 15 was split on May 9, 1948, when the
Route 20 bus replaced both the Edmondson Avenue streetcar and the old Route 20 streetcar to
Point Breeze. Route 4 was absorbed by Route 15 on September 18, 1954, and on November 2, 1963 it was replaced by buses. In 1966, Route 15 absorbed
Route 35, which operated from Walbrook Junction to Lorraine. The new full route of the line ran from Lorraine to Overlea. Later expansions were made into the suburbs to accommodate future development.
Service north of Overlea In 1915, bus service began between Overlea and
Belair called "jitney buses." These operated for several years. MTA began providing service north of Overlea in 1973, when a new
Route 15A was formed that provided express service between
Kingsville and downtown along Belair Road. This line, in 1991, was renamed to
Route 43, which also provided service to White Marsh. Overall, service on Belair Road in
Baltimore County was always very limited. But in 1992, service on Route 43 line was provided as express trips on Route 15. The White Marsh branch was initially provided on
Route 66 until that line was eliminated 7 months later, at which time a White Marsh branch was formed on Route 15. In 1998, due to low ridership, Kingsville service was shortened to Perry Hall, and reduced to just seven trips daily on weekdays. In 2005, as part of the
Greater Baltimore Bus Initiative, a comprehensive overhaul plan for the region's transit system, MTA proposed to eliminate all service north of Overlea. This plan was not implemented. Some of the opposition came from a blind man who would have lost all bus service in his community. In 2007, service to White Marsh was improved.
Forest Park Avenue service In 2003, due to the anticipated closure of the Forest Park Avenue bridge, Route 15 was modified in the
Windsor Hills area. Buses, instead of operating through the Windsor Hills community, were diverted more directly on
Windsor Mill Road, bypassing this area. A new
Route 68 was formed to provide shuttle service between Walbrook Junction and Windsor Hills. This plan was then intended to be temporary. In 2005, as part of the
Greater Baltimore Bus Initiative, MTA proposed that both Routes 15 and 68 would be modified. Under this plan, Route 15 would have been combined with
Route 91 and extended north from
Walbrook Junction to
Sinai Hospital. Route 68 would have been converted into a feeder bus that would have operated between
Security Square Mall and the
Mondawmin Metro Subway Station. Route 15 would no longer have operated west of Walbrook Junction, and the streets of Windsor Hills would not have had any bus service. Due to public outcry, these changes were not made. Protests included a 73-year-old man who complained that removing bus service from Forest Park Avenue and being forced to walk a greater distance to reach the nearest line could be life-threatening. Route 68 was merged back into Route 15, and Route 15 returned to its old route through Windsor Hills on all trips west of Walbrook Junction. In addition, White Marsh service on weekdays and Saturdays was increased to one bus an hour. In June 2011, all
local service beyond Overlea was eliminated, but
express service to Perry Hall continued as scheduled, and White Marsh service replaced by an extension of
Route 58. ==See also==