As the Trump administration orders federal workers to return to the office, the Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) is encouraging those impacted to consider using public transit.
President Donald Trump issued an executive order following his Jan. 20 inauguration stating that government departments and agencies must “take all necessary steps to terminate remote work arrangements and require employees to return to work in-person at their respective duty stations on a full-time basis.”
Approximately 70,000 county residents are part of the federal workforce, according to Montgomery County Council President Kate Stewart’s (D-Dist. 4) office. That number does not include federal workers who reside in neighboring jurisdictions but work at agencies based in the county, such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in White Oak or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in Silver Spring.
Montgomery County is serviced by Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) trains and Metrobuses, the Maryland Area Rail Commuter (MARC) train, as well as MCDOT Ride On and Flash buses. Regular Ride On fare is $1, and commuter passes are available.
“MCDOT has steadily increased bus service over the last few years, with faster, high-frequency bus service that uses sections of dedicated bus lanes and traffic signal priority to reduce congestion impacts on bus speed,” County Executive Marc Elrich (D) said in a news release Friday.
Here is a list of transit options located near each county-based federal agency, with links to the routes:
National Institutes of Health, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda
Ride On boardings at the Medical Center Metro bus loop – 30, 33, 34, 46, 70, 101. The Metro Red Line and Metrobus Routes J1 and J2 service this location. MTA Commuter Bus 203 is also available at this location.
Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, 8901 Rockville Pike, Bethesda
Ride On boardings at the Medical Center Metro bus loop – 30, 33, 34, 46, 70, 101. The Metro Red Line and Metrobus Routes J1 and J2 service this location. MTA Commuter Bus 203 is also available at this location.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA), 10903 New Hampshire Ave., Silver Spring
Ride On bus route 10 boards on New Hampshire Avenue; bus route 22 boards at FDA entrance bus loop; Flash boards to the left of the FDA bus loop – 10, 22 and Flash. Metrobus Routes K6, K9 and C8 are also available near the FDA campus. MTA Commuter Bus 203 and 204 are also available at this location.
Department of Energy Campus, 19901 Germantown Road, Germantown
Ride On bus route 83 boards at Germantown Transit Center, Century Boulevard (Bus Stop Id. 15012 / Bay F). All other Ride On bus routes board on GTC Aircraft Drive – 55, 61,74, 75, 83.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),1315 East West Highway, Silver Spring
Ride On bus route 28 stops in front of NOAA; all other bus routes stop around the corner at the Silver Spring Transit Center – 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 28. The Metro Red Line, MARC Commuter Rail Brunswick Line and numerous Metrobus routes including J1, J2, S2, S9, Q2, Q4, Y2, Y7, Y8, Z2, Z6, Z7, Z8, F4, 70 and 79 service this location. MTA Commuter Buses 305, 315 and 325 are also available at the Silver Spring Transit Center.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville
All Ride On bus routes board at Rockville Pike and Marinelli Drive – 5, 26, 46, 101. The Metro Red Line is also available at this location via the North Bethesda station.
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg
Ride On bus route 54 boards outside the gate to the NIST campus – 54.
Internal Revenue Service, 6010 Executive Blvd., Rockville
Ride On bus boardings at Executive Boulevard and Jefferson Street (Bus Stop Id. 22052 or 22038) – 5, 26.
Social Security Administration, 10229 New Hampshire Ave., Silver Spring
All Ride On bus routes board at Hillandale Transit Center – 10, 22. Metrobus Routes K6, K9 and C8 are also available near this location.
National Cancer Institute, 9609 Medical Center Drive, Rockville
Ride On bus boardings at Medical Center Drive (Bus Stop Id. 23996) – 43, Ride On extRa Pink.
According to MCDOT spokesperson Emily DeTitta, the department is working to add more routes to the existing Ride On lines.
“We have additional plans to add routes to the Great Seneca Transit Network, which consists of the new Pink and Lime lines so far. Additionally, the US 29 Flash Bus Rapid Transit corridor launched a few years ago in 2020, which directly services the FDA, but most are existing bus routes,” DeTitta told Bethesda Today in an email Friday. “We are building out the Flash Network to connect the county. Seven additional, integrated Flash corridors are planned, with the next, along Veirs Mill Road between Downtown Rockville and Downtown Wheaton, moving into construction later this year.”
