The Maryland Transit Administration will commemorate Transit Equity Day with free rides on all transit systems on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025. This celebration will honor civil rights icon Rosa Parks, her life, and her legacy on the anniversary of her birthday.
Free rides offered by the Maryland Department of Transportation Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) will include services on Local Bus, Light Rail, Metro Subway, MARC Train, Mobility and Commuter Bus. An annual tradition, Transit Equity Day is dedicated to honoring Parks’ monumental impact on the civil rights movement.
On Dec. 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, a seamstress in Montgomery, Alabama defied local law and refused to give up her seat to a white passenger on a segregated public transit bus. Where she sat was legal when she first sat down, because the law required an empty row be maintained between white and Black passengers and there was an empty row in front of her before the section for white passengers began.
As the bus filled up, the empty row in front of her filled up with white passengers and the driver told the Black passengers to move back one row to maintain the empty row’s distance. Parks refused. Though she knew the driver was armed, and he threatened her with arrest, she stayed in her seat, refusing to move back. The driver drove until he found a payphone to call police for her to be arrested. This was the catalyst for the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
It took over a year of boycotting by the African American community for the ensuing case to work its way through the court system and for the law to change. Every step of the way Montgomery’s all-white city-council created obstacles to the boycotts. When the Black community created its own ride-sharing system to help each other get to work, the city council passed a law forbidding transporting anyone other than their families in their cars. The city council passed a law forbidding Black people to walk in groups on a sidewalk. When word got to the city council that Black taxi drivers were giving discounts to those participating in the boycott, they passed an order to fine drivers who charged a rider less than 45 cents.
On June 5, 1956, a related suit being heard in federal district court was decided: the court ruled in Browder v. Gayle that Alabama’s racial segregation laws were unconstitutional. On Nov. 13, 1956, the Supreme Court upheld the ruling. The boycott officially ended on Dec. 20, 1956, after 382 days.
The celebration of Transit Equity Day is nationwide and highlights the vital role public transit plays in the health of the communities it serves. The MTA encourages riders to use their free ride on Feb. 4 for commuting to work or school, doctors’ appointments or recreation, like visiting events and exhibits at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum and The National Great Blacks in Wax Museum.
Use the MTA’s website or Transit app to plan your trip.
