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SALISBURY, MD--- Shore Transit, a coordinated regional public transportation system for the Lower Eastern Shore of Maryland, was recently awarded the 2001 Outstanding Rural Community Development Award at the annual summit of the FORVM for Rural Maryland in Rocky Gap, MD. 

Shore Transit earned the award for its success in improving mobility, economic opportunity and quality of life in this rural area through the development of an integrated, seamless regional approach to transportation.  Conceptualized and designed in 1999, the Shore Transit system links the population centers of the three Lower Shore counties, with extensions to Cambridge in Dorchester County and to outlying rural areas of the region. 

The system is the result of commitment and combined efforts of many stakeholders, including the Lower Shore public transportation providers consisting of  Somerset Commuter and Somerset Temporary Ride Service (STRideS), Wicomico Transit, Worcester County Ride and Ocean City Transit;  the departments of Social Services of Somerset, Wicomico and Worcester counties; participating non-profit organizations; Shore Transit Association board members and staff; state and local elected officials and administrators; ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½’s Business, Economic and Community Outreach Network (BEACON), an affiliate of ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½’s Perdue School of Business; and the ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ Henson School’s Mapping Science Group.

 “This project has worked so well that the state is recognizing it as a model.  I think it speaks for the implementation of the program itself and for the processes and public input that help ensure its success, ” said Maryland Delegate Norm Conway (D-38th District).

“This is the beginning of mass transit on the Shore. It’s good for our regional economic development as well as for our quality of life, ” said Delegate Charles McClenahan (R-38th District).

For more information on Shore Transit, call 443-260-2300, or visit its Web site  www.shoretransit.org.