Montgomery County officials think they have a good shot at getting federal funding for a “premium” bus route that would run with all-electric vehicles along some of the most congested portions of Rockville Pike.
Gary Erenrich, the county’s acting deputy director for transportation policy, said Tuesday the route would have 14 buses that would provide more frequent service with fewer stops between Lakeforest Mall in Gaithersburg and the Grosvenor-Strathmore Metro station in North Bethesda.
It’s modeled on similar strategies adopted by transportation agencies around the country, including Metro, which is striving for faster and more efficient bus service to attract riders.
The county projects the route could draw 2,000 riders per day. It would include improved bus shelters at about 10 stops with screens that show real-time information on wait times for Metro trains, nearby car-sharing services and other transportation options.
“This is a first for us,” Erenrich told the White Flint Downtown Advisory Committee. “We think the image will be good because it won’t look like a regular bus. This is a Ride On plus service, an opportunity to attract a rider that may not have used a regular bus.”
It could also serve as a precursor to the county’s planned Rapid Transit System.
The route would include a Transit Signal Priority system at 30 key intersections along Rockville Pike. A transponder installed on the buses would send a signal to traffic lights, allowing a few extra seconds of a green light only for the buses.
The county is preparing an application for a federal TIGER grant. Each year for the last six years, the federal government has handed out $500 million in grants to local and regional transportation projects.
Erenrich said the county has a good chance to win federal dollars because there are few competing projects from the Washington, D.C., region.
The bus route would cost a total of $21 million and the county is looking for about $17 million in federal funding.
Erenrich pitched the advisory committee on the idea because the county would like to include plans for a new White Flint Capital Bikeshare network to strengthen the application. He said involving the private sector could improve the grant’s chances of approval.
He said having Bikeshare would also help the application by adding a second form of transportation.
The advisory committee includes residents, county officials, business owners and developer representatives.
The county envisions 10 Bikeshare stations in the area around the White Flint Metro station, with five of the $60,000 stations paid for by private developers.
So far, the county hasn’t come to any agreements with developers interested in paying for a Bikeshare station on their property.
