On September 17, Karyl Berger, Research Associate for PCAC, went to Washington, D.C to meet with members of the Maryland Area Regional Commuter (MARC) Riders Advisory Council. MARC is a commuter rail service for the Baltimore/Washington area as well as a portion of West Virginia. The group, which has a dozen active members, was formed back in 2006 as a response to the Maryland Transit Administration’s attempt to close four rural stations on two of the MARC lines. Since then, the Council has been trying to re-evaluate their mission and where they want to go as a group. Over the last few months, they have been meeting with various “sister” organizations throughout the country (Amtrak’s CAC, VRE’s rider’s council, etc) to get an idea of what organizational structure has worked for these groups. Currently they meet on a monthly basis and do all the work themselves (they have no funding). It was very informative and interesting to hear about the issues they are dealing with. Click here for their website.