Updated July 18 – Montgomery County will soon start running a free rush-hour bus service from the Grosvenor-Strathmore Metro station to the Rock Spring office park in Bethesda as part of an effort to make the area more accessible.
The Rock Spring Park Express will start July 25 and run every 10 minutes between 6 and 9 a.m. and between 3 and 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, according to a flier published by the county.
The route will run nonstop from the Grosvenor-Strathmore Metro station to the office park, home to the corporate headquarters of hotel giant Marriott International and defense and aerospace company Lockheed Martin.
The bus will make five stops around the office park, including three on Rockledge Drive and one each on Rock Spring Drive and Fernwood Road. Esther Bowring, spokesperson for the Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT), said Monday the service will cost the county about $400,000 a year. MCDOT estimates about 200 riders will use the service per weekday.
Flier announcing Rock Spring Park Express, via Montgomery County
According to the county, the schedule of the free bus will be coordinated with the existing Ride On Route 96 that already runs between the Metro station and office park, so the average wait for one of the two buses during rush hour periods will be about five minutes.
Ride On Route 96 will continue running during off-peak hours.
Last year, Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson announced the company would be moving out of its Fernwood Road headquarters at the end of its lease for a yet-to-be-determined and more transit-accessible location.
Also last year, the county’s Planning Department started a master plan revision for the area to address rising office vacancy rates and decide whether to allow commercial and residential uses in the area.
A townhome community from developer EYA is under construction on an undeveloped parcel of the office park previously reserved for an office building.
