Maryland will provide free rail and commuter bus transit to federal workers during shutdown

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Maryland will provide free MARC train and Commuter Bus service to federal workers for the duration of the government shutdown, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore has announced.

Anyone with a federal ID badge can ride for free by showing their badge to the operator.

The governor made the announcement Friday while at a resource fair in Howard County, where state and local agencies were administering resources for federal workers.

“This is what Maryland does in times of crisis: We band together and we help each other out,” Gov. Moore said in a statement. “But while Maryland is mobilizing to ease the shutdown’s burden on our people, let’s be clear, no state can fill the gap created by the federal government.”

The federal government is the largest employer in the state, which lost over 15,000 jobs since President Donald Trump’s administration took office in January.

In 2019, Trump’s partial shutdown cost Marylanders about $778 million in wages.

“Since day one of this shutdown, Maryland lawmakers across the federal, state, and local delegations have stood united in the fight to protect all Marylanders,” said Rep. Sarah Elfreth.

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Jeffery Leon

Jeff Leon joins WTOP as a digital writer/editor after workingfor the Bloomberg Industry Group as a legal reporter for several years, reporting hundreds of stories and deep dives into taxes and courts.

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