Board of Public Works Approves New Shuttle Buses to Serve BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport
The Maryland Board of Public Works on Aug. 1, approved a contract to procure 20 buses to serve customers at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. The airport will use the buses to provide continuous shuttle service between the BWI Marshall terminal, airport parking facilities, and the BWI Rail Station. The Board, chaired by Governor Larry Hogan and including Comptroller Peter Franchot and Treasurer Nancy Kopp, approved a $13.5 million contract to purchase ten 40-foot buses and ten 60-foot articulated buses from New Flyer of America, Inc.
“These new buses will improve the level of service for our customers,” said Ricky Smith, executive director of BWI Marshall Airport. “We thank the Board of Public Works for approving this contract. The procurement is an important step in our work to modernize our entire bus fleet.”
The contract approved today is one of multiple procurements that will lead to a complete replacement of the shuttle bus fleet at BWI Marshall Airport. The airport’s current parking and rail station fleet is comprised of 40 buses that went into service in 2005. In late 2017, BWI Marshall Airport placed 20 new rental car shuttle buses into service.
The new buses approved today by the Board of Public Works will offer customer service amenities, including: USB charging ports, WiFi, comfortable seating, luggage racks, wide doors, and large windows. The articulated buses provide about a 50 percent increase in passenger capacity over the smaller, transit-style buses.
BWI Marshall Airport remains the busiest airport in the region. The airport has set three-straight annual passenger records. Through April 2018, BWI Marshall has set new monthly passenger records in 33 of the past 34 months. The first quarter of 2018 was a new record for the first three months of any year, with more than 5.9 million passengers.
In January 2018, Governor Hogan announced a new economic impact report which revealed that BWI Marshall Airport produces a total economic impact of $9.3 billion. The airport and visitors generate and support more than 106,000 jobs throughout the region.
