I frequently use the transit system here in Portland (which is far better than Baltimore's). Buses will always have a place because they fill needs that rail cannot....they are much more flexible and cost-effective than building rail. That said, they continue to expand the rail system here (a new line opened just a month ago), and with mostly good results. For whatever reason, a lot of people tend to romanticize the idea of riding on rails, and thus you'll get people who do so once it is introduced to a new area who before ignored buses that took the same route. Also, development and property values usually see a significant boost around the rail stops, even before it is actually operational, just because of the intrinsic value.
It was touted that the Red Line might have done the same for some areas in West Baltimore....although having seen the neighborhoods around some Metro stops, which has been running since the 80's, I was always a bit skeptical of that part. I liked it because it simply provided a seemingly better alternative to get downtown from the western suburbs, filling in that hole in the highway system that has lingered since the I-70 extension was killed back in the early 70's.
Well the homeless hipsters in Portland have to get around somehow. Lord knows they're not doing that on buses. Ick. 
For some reason, Baltimore exists in its own black cloud bubble where things that improve other cities don't catch on here for whatever reason. We've failed to build comprehensive mass transit, build major league arenas, curb crime, clean up the harbor, and about a million other things that other cities seem to do.
That's why we should be thankful for what does get done. But most people aren't even thankful for that.
