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Transportation

Only Howard County offers you the unique advantage of a central location directly between Washington, D.C. and Baltimore. With easy access to a range of transportation options, you can tap into one of the most densely concentrated tech industries in the country—and to leading military institutions and government agencies such as the National Security Administration, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Fort Meade, and the Department of Homeland Security.

The county’s location provides it with convenient access to transportation via air, rail, ground and sea.

Traveling by Public Transit

With Howard County’s central location between the nation’s capital and the Baltimore metro area, you have a range of public transportation choices. To help plan your travel, Central Maryland Regional Transit’s website includes real-time bus departures; a web-based trip planner based on public transit options, schedules and route; and information on alternative modes of transportation like biking, telecommuting or ridesharing. Learn more at mta.maryland.gov/transit-maps or call 1.866.RIDE MTA.

Howard County’s Public Transportation

Howard County, Anne Arundel County, Northern Prince George’s County and the City of Laurel came together as parties in 2014 to create the Central Maryland Transportation & Mobility Consortium to advance their cooperative efforts to maintain an efficient and effective coordinated regional bus system in Maryland. The bus system is the Regional Transportation Agency of Central Maryland, (RTA). You can learn more about their services at transitrta.com/routes/.

Traveling by Road

Interstate Highway

Two major interstate highways pass directly through Howard County. Interstate 95 passes through the Western part of the county and provides immediate access to 15 states on the east coast from Florida to Maine. Interstate 70 passes through the northern section of the county, providing highway access through the 10 states between Maryland to Utah.

Driving Distance from Howard County in Miles

Miles

Atlanta, GA 648
Baltimore, MD 11
Boston, MA 408
Chicago, IL 678
Cleveland, OH 361
Indianapolis, IN 581
New York, NY 197
Philadelphia, PA 108
Pittsburgh, PA 215
Richmond, VA 136
St. Louis, MO 855
Washington, DC 31

Commuting by Bike

The Columbia Association built a network of 93.5 miles of pathways to be used for both recreation and commuting. These trails provide easy access throughout Columbia to individuals who would prefer to walk, run or bike to their destination.

You can learn more about biking in Howard County and the Howard County Bicycle Master Plan at www.bikehoward.com.

Traveling by Rail

MARC Train Service is a commuter rail system whose service areas include Harford County, Maryland; Baltimore City; Washington D.C.; Brunswick, Maryland; Frederick, Maryland and Martinsburg, West Virginia. MARC Train Service operates Monday through Friday only. See more information, including Schedules and Routes.

The Light Rail is a local rail service that runs daily from BWI Marshall Airport, through Baltimore City, and up into Hunt Valley. It connects with the Baltimore Subway, which provides riders access to Owings Mills and Randalstown. Learn more about Riding the Light Rail.

Amtrak serves several stations in the BWI region, Baltimore, and Washington D.C., making it is easy to use a commuter train for regional travel.

CSX has several Freight Depots in the state located close to Howard County.

Traveling by Air

Howard County is easily accessible by air from the following three major regional airports:

Regional Airports

Miles

Baltimore Washington International Airport – Thurgood Marshall:
In 2010, BWI was ranked as the best airport of its size (15–25 mil. passengers) in the world by the Airports Council International
9.0
Reagan Washington National 45.7
Washington Dulles International 54.2

Traveling by Sea

Howard County is located just a short 21 miles from the Port of Baltimore, the 13th busiest of the nation’s 360 ports. Closer to the Midwest than any other East Coast port, the Port in Baltimore City is within an overnight drive of one-third of the nation’s population. Five public and twelve private terminals handle the Port’s traffic, including containerized cargo, ro/ro, autos, coal, wood pulp, and more.