Md. Busway Promoted As Solution To Gridlock

Montgomery County Council member Marc Elrich thinks he might have found a way to let the suburbs grow without putting more cars on the roads: Build a rapid bus system that can speed past traffic.

If his efforts succeed, Montgomery could become a leader in the region and one of only a dozen or so jurisdictions in the nation to embrace the low-polluting, high-end bus systems that can move thousands of riders at fairly high speeds, often in their own lanes.

"The county ought to think about calling a halt to building roads for five years, building a transit system and then seeing what else you need," said Elrich (D-At Large). "Now, we identify a traffic problem and our first instinct is to add lanes to fix it. We never have the money to do a transit project."

Elrich has been talking up rapid buses with developers, lawyers, lawmakers, regulators and community groups. He said he hopes to organize a meeting with regional transit officials soon.

Rapid buses, sleek vehicles that look like trams or light-rail cars, run on alternative fuels and can include comfortable seating, WiFi, multiple doors and cashless fares. They operate in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami and Pittsburgh, among other cities. They are planned for a dozen other jurisdictions, including New York, Atlanta, Albany, N.Y., and Hartford, Conn. Rapid buses are used in Australia, China, England, France and South America.

Elrich's plans for higher-end buses would add more east-west lines to parallel the proposed Purple Line, under discussion by officials as a bus or light-rail link between New Carrollton in Prince George's County and Bethesda. His proposed north-south bus routes would run along Route 29, parts of Connecticut Avenue, Georgia Avenue, Rockville Pike and Interstate 270.

Esther Bowring, a spokeswoman for Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett (D), said the county is interested in Elrich's ideas.

"We have an overall commitment to really try to expand transit, to make it easier and more convenient for everyone," she said.

In the next decade, thousands more people are expected to move into Montgomery, pushing the county's population to more than 1 million. Despite expected increases in housing density that will make parts of the county look like small cities, there is little urban-style infrastructure, such as sidewalks or closely spaced Metro stops. Many residents get in their cars for the shortest of trips.

A rapid bus system may be the cheapest and quickest way to add seats for new riders, said Lurae Stuart, a bus expert at the American Public Transportation Association. "It is flexible, too. You can do something very low-cost and then move up the scale."

Rapid buses can run on paved medians, or special bus guideways, without competing with car traffic. The buses often are longer and more luxurious than standard Metrobuses. They use magnetized fare card systems and often have station stops that look like rail stops.

"It is what a real transit system in a real city would do," Elrich said.