Flash BRT

Flash BRT
Overview
Owner	Ride On
Locale	Montgomery County, Maryland
Transit type	Bus rapid transit
Number of lines	2 operational 4 under development
Number of stations	12 (operational) ~45 (overall)
Headquarters	Rockville, Maryland
Website	http://www.ridetheflash.com
Operation
Began operation	October 14, 2020 (U.S. 29 only)
Operator(s)	Ride On
Number of vehicles	16 Nova Bus LFS articulated
Technical
System length	14 mi (23 km) on U.S. 29 [1]
System map Flash BRT Legend US 29 Silver Spring Fenton Street Four Corners Burnt Mills Oak Leaf Drive FDA White Oak Transit Center April Lane Tech Road Castle Boulevard Briggs Chaney Burtonsville All stations are accessible MD 586 Wheaton University Boulevard Norris Drive Connecticut Avenue Randolph Road Robindale Drive Aspen Hill Road Twinbrook Parkway Atlantic Avenue Edmonston Drive Rockville Montgomery College MD 355 Bethesda MD 355 at Woodmont Avenue Medical Center Grosvenor North Bethesda Twinbrook Rockville MD 355 at Mannakee Street Shady Grove Gaithersburg Lakeforest Mall Transit Center MD 355 at Middlebrook Road MD 355 at Germantown Road MD 355 at Ridge Road Clarksburg Outlets This diagram: view talk edit

Flash BRT is a bus rapid transit network in Montgomery County, Maryland with one corridor in operation and four future corridors under development. ^[2] It is part of Montgomery County's Ride On bus system.

Corridors

Existing and planned corridors

29 corridor

Currently the only corridor in operation, Flash BRT service runs in two routes along U.S. 29, both beginning at the Silver Spring Metrorail station and extending northeast. The Blue route makes six total stops, ending at the Burtonsville park and ride. The Orange route makes eleven total stops, ending at the Briggs Chaney park and ride.

The line opened on October 14, 2020, replacing the previous Ride On Route 129. ^[3] Buses drive along the shoulder of U.S. 29 along the northern end of the route, with the remainder of the service using mixed-traffic roadways. Buses receive signal priority at some intersections. ^[1]

Howard County has studied the possibility of extending the Flash line on the 29 corridor from Burtonsville to Maryland Route 99 in Ellicott City. ^[4]

Stations serving the 29 corridor

Station Name	Location	Connections	Facilities
Silver Spring	Bus Bay 229 8400 Colesville Road Silver Spring, MD 20910	Washington Metro Red Line MARC Train : Brunswick Line Purple Line (future) Metrobus: 70, 79, F4, J1, J2, J4, Q1, Q2, Q4, S2, S9, Y2, Y7, Y8, Z2, Z6, Z7, Z8, Z11 Ride On: 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 28 MTA Maryland Bus: 915, 929 Shuttle-UM: 111 Peter Pan Bus	Transit center (existing) Capital Bikeshare
Fenton Street	Colesville Road & Fenton Street Silver Spring, MD 20910	Metrobus : F4, Z2, Z6, Z7, Z8, Z11 Ride On : 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 20, 21, 22, 28 MTA Maryland Bus : 305, 315, 325	Capital Bikeshare
Four Corners	Northbound: Colesville Road & Lanark Way Southbound: Colesville Road & University Boulevard Silver Spring, MD 20901	Metrobus : C2, C4, Z2, Z6, Z8 Ride On : 9, 19, 21
Burnt Mills	Burnt Mills Shopping Center Silver Spring, MD 20901	Metrobus : Z2, Z6, Z8, Z11 Ride On : 21, 22	Capital Bikeshare
Oak Leaf Drive	Northbound: Lockwood Drive & Northwest Drive Southbound: Lockwood Drive & Oak Leaf Drive Silver Spring, MD 20901	Metrobus : Z2, Z6, Z8	Capital Bikeshare
FDA	Northwest Loop Road White Oak, MD 20903	Metrobus : C8, K9 MTA Maryland Bus : 203, 204
White Oak Transit Center	Lockwood Drive north of New Hampshire Avenue White Oak, MD 20904	Metrobus : C8, K6, Z6, Z8 Ride On : 10	Capital Bikeshare
April Lane	Stewart Lane & April Lane White Oak, MD 20904	Metrobus : Z6, Z8 Ride On : 10	Capital Bikeshare
Tech Road	Columbia Pike & Tech Road Silver Spring, MD 20904	Metrobus : Z6, Z7, Z8 Ride On : 10	130 parking spaces
Castle Boulevard	Castle Boulevard & Castle Ridge Circle Silver Spring, MD 20904	Metrobus : Z6, Z8, Z11	Capital Bikeshare
Briggs Chaney	Gateshed Manor Way & Briggs Chaney Road Silver Spring, MD 20904	Metrobus : Z6, Z8, Z11 Ride On : 21, 39	Capital Bikeshare 240 parking spaces Public restrooms
Burtonsville	National Drive & US 29 Burtonsville, MD 20866	Metrobus : Z6, Z7, Z11 MTA Maryland Bus : 201, 202, 203, 305, 315	Bus loop/drop off 500 parking spaces

Veirs Mill corridor

Scheduled to open circa 2028, the Viers Mill corridor is planned to run along Veirs Mill Road between Wheaton Metrorail station and Rockville Metrorail station. The initial plan includes 11 stations, with a possible future extension to Montgomery College. ^[5]

355 corridor

Scheduled to open circa 2029, the 355 corridor is planned to begin at Bethesda Metrorail station and run northwest along Maryland Route 355 through Rockville, Gaithersburg, Germantown, and Clarksburg. ^[6]

North Bethesda corridor

This proposed route would run from North Bethesda Metro station to Montgomery Mall. Early planning work is under way as of 2025 but no opening date has yet been announced. ^[7]

New Hampshire Avenue corridor

This proposed route would run along New Hampshire Avenue between as yet undetermined end stations near the DC line and Colesville. Early planning work is under way as of 2025 but no opening date has yet been announced. ^[8]

Buses

Flash BRT bus

The Montgomery Country Department of Transportation purchased 16 Nova Bus LFS articulated buses for the U.S. 29 line, which is based out of the Gaithersburg Garage. These buses can fit up to 80 passengers and feature level boarding, onboard bike racks, and an automatic wheelchair securement system. ^[9] The buses are also equipped with a pedestrian sensor, which alerts the driver when people are passing in front of the bus. As with other Ride On buses, each bus also features a WiFi hotspot. Passengers can board or exit the bus through any of its three doors.

Stations

Four Corners station

There are approximately 45 stations proposed across the entire future network, with 12 stations currently operating on the US 29 routes. Each station includes a canopy, a seating area, and a fare payment machine that accepts SmarTrip cards along with traditional forms of payment, and a passenger information system that displays when the next bus is coming and a blue pylon mounted above the canopy that flashes when a bus is about to arrive.^{[ citation needed ]}

References

1. Pascale, Jordan (October 13, 2020). "Montgomery County Launches A New Rapid Bus Service This Week". WAMU 88.5. Washington, DC.
2. "Ride the Flash - MCDOT Montgomery County, MD". www.montgomerycountymd.gov. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
3. Lazo, Luz. "The D.C. region's most ambitious try at bus rapid transit is coming to Montgomery County". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
4. "Info". /www.howardcountymd.gov. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
5. "FLASH on Veirs Mill". Ride the FLASH. August 14, 2017. Archived from the original on August 2, 2019. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
6. "MD355 FlasH BRT". MD 355 Flash Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). February 25, 2025. Retrieved February 25, 2025.
7. "North Bethesda Transitway". Ride the FLASH. February 25, 2025. Retrieved February 25, 2025.
8. "New Hampshire Ave BRT planning". New Hampshire Flash Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). February 25, 2025. Retrieved February 25, 2025.
9. Diegel, Mike (October 15, 2020). "County DOT Launches Flash Bus Rapid Transit Service". Source of the Spring. Silver Spring, MD. Retrieved October 17, 2020.