This is the major difference between the MTA and actual transit authorities. ( By the way, the "MTA" acronym has remained with the Administration throughout its history, beginning with the Metropolitan Transit Authority that first took over the old Baltimore Transit Company, through the Mass Transit Administration to its present Maryland Transit Administration) MTA has the statutory authority to operate services in the Baltimore Region, and to fund transit services elsewhere in Maryland, and includes playing the role identified by John. Thus, it is not limited to only those areas which have signed an agreement, as WMATA is.
MARC, though now a part of the MTA, has a different orgin. It began as a direct operation of MDOT, and in its early days was identified simply as MDOT. In those days, MTA ( as the Mass Transit Administration) and the commuter operation were separate "divisions" of MDOT. With the conversion of the Mass Transit Administration into the Maryland Transit Administration, which was actually an expansion of the mission of MTA, the commuter operation, now known as MARC was brought under the MTA umbrella.
MARC, though now a part of the MTA, has a different orgin. It began as a direct operation of MDOT, and in its early days was identified simply as MDOT. In those days, MTA ( as the Mass Transit Administration) and the commuter operation were separate "divisions" of MDOT. With the conversion of the Mass Transit Administration into the Maryland Transit Administration, which was actually an expansion of the mission of MTA, the commuter operation, now known as MARC was brought under the MTA umbrella.
