Maryland governor appoints deputy to serve as next head of Maryland Transit Administration

By Christopher Scarglato | Baltimore Sun (TNS)

BALTIMORE — Former Del. Tony Bridges will become the next head of the Maryland Transit Administration, Gov. Wes Moore said Wednesday.

The former state delegate, who represented Baltimore, is now Moore’s deputy legislative officer. He previously served as assistant secretary of the Maryland Department of Transportation.

“Tony Bridges brings a rare combination of hands-on transit experience, legislative insight and an unwavering commitment to Maryland,” Moore said in a statement.

Bridges will succeed MTA Administrator Holly Arnold on Sept. 1, according to a news release.

He will oversee the state agency that oversees Light RailLink, Metro SubwayLink, MARC trains and bus systems.

Bridges takes over after Arnold’s five-year tenure leading MTA, where she oversaw the nation’s 13th-largest transit system, according to her biography.

“Administrator Arnold has been a tireless champion for transit,” said Maryland Department of Transportation Secretary Katie Thompson in a statement. “We wish her the best in her next chapter.”

Bridges takes over a transit system that advocates say has fallen short and faces major transportation questions, including the future of the proposed Red Line.

The Central Maryland Transportation Alliance gave the transit system a D in its 2026 report card, citing poor access to jobs, disconnected communities and air pollution.

“Unfortunately, in Central Maryland, we are far from the great transportation system that we seek. A decade since our first Transportation Report Card, our region remains at a ‘D’ grade across critical metrics,” the group said in the report.

Roughly two years ago, Moore said light rail was the preferred option for the Red Line, a proposed 14-mile route from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services headquarters in Baltimore County to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in Baltimore. State estimates put the project’s cost at between $5 billion and $9 billion.

But at recent community meetings in Baltimore, officials floated creating a bus rapid transit line instead. State estimates put the project’s cost at between $750 million and $1 billion.

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