On Tuesday, Sept. 8, the Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) will expand its US 29 Flash Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Blue Route to serve four new stops in Howard County. The Flash Blue Route will provide weekday, rush-hour service every 15-20 minutes from 5-9 a.m. and 3-8 p.m. between Downtown Silver Spring and Downtown Columbia.
“The extension provides access to more jobs and more housing choices along one of our busiest corridors,” said County Executive Marc Elrich. “This service connects Montgomery County residents to the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory and its 9,000 employees, and Howard County residents to the future Viva White Oak development, which is projected to bring 9,000 new jobs and 5,000 homes to our region. By taking a regional approach to transit, we are expanding access to opportunity and supporting smart, sustainable economic growth.”
Flash is Montgomery County’s bus rapid transit system, offering high-frequency service and faster trips with dedicated bus lanes where possible, and extended green lights for Flash buses. The US 29 Flash BRT, which operates a daily Orange route and a weekday, rush-hour Blue route, has been in operation since October 2020. The US 29 Flash BRT is consistently ranked among the County’s most heavily used bus routes, serving more than 2,700 passengers each weekday and more than 16,000 passengers per week…