The buses are a lite version of BRT, with similar features like low-floor boarding, 10-minute peak rush hour headways, and free Wi-Fi, but will not take travel lanes along Rockville Pike from cars (as BRT will). Ride On Extra buses will also have traffic signal priority, but the County has never addressed how that random impact on traffic signals will affect the synchronization of lights up and down the Pike. It could cause major rush hour delays on an already-jammed road.
There's no mention of how much the month of free service will cost taxpayers, either. Ride On Extra stops will include Lakeforest Transit Center, Summit Ave., Westland Dr., Shady Grove Metro, Montgomery College, Rockville Metro, Edmonston Dr., Halpine Rd., Marinelli Rd., Security Ln., Tuckerman Ln., and Medical Center. There will be new bus shelters and bus stop flag signs to identify Ride On Extra bus stops.
So this bus is basically going to follow the path of the Red line? Why bother?
ReplyDeleteAlso note sure why they need wifi on buses -- don't most people have a data plan on their smartphones by now?
@11:21 - RideOn Extra will extend past the Red Line up to Lakeforest. That opens up transit options for a whole bunch of people who might otherwise have driven. It also encourages transit use within the territory of the line itself. Lets say you live near Gaithersburg High School, but you work on Wooton Parkway - there are currently transit options for you, but they take 45-55 minutes, as compared to a 14 minute drive (without traffic). But even if you somehow avoid rush hour traffic jams every day, you still have to deal with paying for parking and wear and tear on your vehicle. This new bus route will take approximately the same amount of time as the car, but will be cheaper and less stressful.
ReplyDeleteAs for the WiFi, I'll gladly use free WiFi instead of using up my data plan.
Hey Dyer - Looks like you missed the breaking news on Leland Street!
ReplyDelete#Snoribund
6:22: I didn't miss it at all. The announcement wasn't public information, but instead internal communications from the Council offices handed directly to favored, friendly news sources.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, I'm the one who broke the story a week before anyone even mentioned it, and I was the one who reported it was an illegal closure that did not use a public process - it was even in the headline of my story!
How is it that you have an answer for everything? You'd be much more believable if you just admitted when you're wrong. Instead you're a joke.
DeleteNothing is worse for BRT than BRT- lite
ReplyDeleteThis line should run along Old Georgetown Road from downtown Bethesda to Pike and Rose instead of following the redline
Wifi, nice seats and limited stops make this a great option!
ReplyDelete8:30: Because I'm right.
ReplyDeleteWhatever happened to "Justice Tuesdays"? Did they good people of Macedonia Baptist Church see the racist crap that you post on your other blogs, and finally decide that they want no part of you?
ReplyDeleteRobert, I commend you for using only one image for this article. Overcoming #Photorrhea will be a long journey - but every journey starts with a single step.
ReplyDelete"the County has never addressed how that random impact on traffic signals will affect the synchronization of lights up and down the Pike."
ReplyDeleteThey didn't address it because the so-called synchronization leads you to stop at nearly every light heading north on 355 in the evening. I suspect the bus will actually make things better for rush hour commuters on 355.
The Corridor Cities Transitway can't come soon enough. Highways are the past, rapid transit is the future.
ReplyDelete7:31am highways will be needed more than ever in the coming age of zero emission autonomous vehicles.
DeleteParking garages are more likely to be used less as people share vehicles and not own them.
Unless we find a way to deal with the wealth gap, those underground garages will be where the homeless poor will live.
ReplyDelete