“Not in Service,” a new documentary about the history of Baltimore’s public transportation system, will be presented at a series of free public screenings this summer. The first is at the Enoch Pratt Central Library on Saturday, July 25, at 1:30 p.m.
The 48-minute film, by David Sebastiao and produced by Silent Media, is an examination of the political, social, and historical forces that have shaped public transportation in Baltimore and across the United States. Baltimore’s decades-long pursuit of the Red Line – a route connecting Woodlawn and the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center through downtown – serves as its central story. “Not in Service” also zooms out, however, to look at how politics, neighborhood divides, and decades of disinvestment have combined to create the inequitable, dysfunctional transportation system that still exists today.
“As Baltimore once again moves forward with the Red Line, this conversation has become more relevant than ever,” Sebastiao said. “This film isn’t simply about trains or buses—it’s about who has access to opportunity, how public investment reflects our priorities, and what kind of future we’re choosing to build.”
Several Baltimore figures appear in the film, including Maryland State Delegate Robbyn Lewis, author Dr. Lawrence Brown, journalist Alec McGillis, and transit advocate Samuel Jordan (who passed away in 2025). Audiences see multiple perspectives on how transit policy intersects with and impacts race, economic opportunity, and regional planning. Residents tell their stories and experts offer analysis while the film attempts to determine how an equitable transportation system can be built.
Specifically, the Red Line is designed to address the fact that majority Black or POC neighborhoods do not have access to nearly as much public transportation as majority white neighborhoods do. In 2023, Brown, one of the experts in “Not in Service”, created a game called Urban Cipher that teaches the history of redlining, showing how racial segregation was threaded into the design of Baltimore’s neighborhood boundaries.
Initially conceived of as a light rail project, in March 2026 Maryland transportation officials began considering the Red Line’s suitability as a potential bus-rapid-transit design. The shift in approach likely comes from Gov. Wes Moore’s commitment to the project conflicting with Pres. Donald Trump’s punitive attitude towards Blue states and providing federal funding to help pay for it.
“Not in Service” has been screened at regional film festivals and won awards for Best Documentary Short at the Ocean City Film Festival, Best Documentary Feature at the Baltimore Next Media Webfest, and Best Feature Film at the Gaithersburg Film Festival. The July 25 screening at Enoch Pratt Central Library is free and open to the public, but an RSVP is required. The library is located at 400 Cathedral St.
Information about additional screenings in August and September, along with other announcements and updates, will be made on the film’s official website.
