Montgomery, Howard counties reach partnership to extend transit service along US-29

HOWARD COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now) – Two Maryland counties are joining forces to improve things for commuters. Leaders from Montgomery and Howard Counties said there's a new transit partnership that will begin early next year.
Four new bus stops in Howard County will become part of Montgomery County's Flash Bus Rapid Transit Service. Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich said this will help reduce traffic on U.S. Route 29 and create new opportunities for people living in both counties.
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Elrich said he's been working to get a transit partnership deal done for a long time.
'It's about 14 years in the making,' he said. 'I was working on bus rapid transit when I was a councilmember down there, and it was my office that actually developed the plan.'
He took the plan to then-Howard County Executive Ken Ulman to talk about the benefits it could have for both counties.
'Because it would make it easier for people to go both ways in terms of finding opportunities,' Elrich said. 'But the big thing is 29. A lot of residents from Howard County come down 29, and we wanted to alleviate that.'
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The U.S. Route 29 Flash Bus began in 2020 with service between Silver Spring and Burtonsville. The partnership will add four stations north of Burtonsville.
'We've got the Flash buses on 29,' Elrich said. 'They're going to wind up in dedicated lanes and it's going to be the kind of thing that's going to make a difference in moving people.'
Elrich said this partnership will allow more convenient access to larger transit hubs like Metro, MARC Train and the future Purple Line.
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