METROPOLITAN TRANSIT AUTHORITY

Chairman: Philip Heller Sachs, 1964
Vice Chairman: John Purley Cooper, Jr., 1965

Member, Anne Arundel County, 1965; Howard C. Bregel,
1966; W. Arthur Grotz, 1967; John A. Seamon, 1968;
Member, Anne Arundel County, 1968.
Wilson C. Driggs, Executive Director
Allan L. Dell, Secretary-Treasurer
John J. Ghingher, Jr., General Counsel

Room 919, One Charles Center, Baltimore 1 Telephone: 752-7831

The Metropolitan Transit Authority was created by Chapter 670,
Acts of 1961, as an instrumentality of the State of Maryland to
improve the mass transportation facilities in the Baltimore metro-
politan area. The Authority may license and regulate all mass transit
and facilities which operate within its jurisdiction comprising Balti-
more City and the metropolitan areas in Baltimore and Anne Arundel
counties adjoining the city. Chapter 886, Acts of 1963, added the third
and fifth election districts of Anne Arundel County and that portion
of the fourth election district lying north and east of State Highway
#175. The Authority is also charged with the responsibility of estab-
lishing an efficient, rapid and coordinated mass transportation system
for the Baltimore metropolitan area. It will develop an overall plan
to accomplish that objective. It is further required to use its efforts
to improve the service offered by privately-owned mass transportation
facilities within its jurisdiction and, if necessary, it may establish an
integrated publicly-owned transit system.

The Authority consists of seven members, appointed for five-year
terms, one by the Governor, two by the Mayor of Baltimore City
subject to the approval of the City Council, two by the County Council
of Baltimore County, and two members from Anne Arundel County by
a committee consisting of the State Senator, Chairman of the mem-
bers of the House of Delegates and the members of the Board of
County Commissioners from the election districts referred to in the
Act. Initially, the Governor's appointee will serve for three years.
One of the Mayor's appointees will serve for one year and the other
for five years. One of the County Council's appointees will serve for
two years, while the other will serve for four years. The members
from Anne Arundel County will serve one for five years and one for
two years. The Authority elects its own Chairman and Vice Chairman
and appoints the Secretary-Treasurer and Executive Director.

The Authority derives its operating revenue from a seat tax of
$4.00 per seat from mass transportation companies operating under
its jurisdiction plus an annual fee or charge in amount equal to 1/20
of one percent of the gross receipts derived from the mass transpor-
tation operations within the area. It is estimated that the total revenue
from these sources will approximate $185,000 per annum.

Advisory Council

Albert L. Sklar, Chairman, Public Service Commission
James L. Foley, Jr., Commissioner, Dept. of Transit & Traffic,

Baltimore
James P. S. Devereux, Director of Public Safety, Baltimore

County

J. Jefferson Miller, Planning Commission, Baltimore County
Mrs. Donald A. Thompson, Planning Commission of Balti-
more City
Vacancy, County Commissioners of Anne Arundel County