MCDOT Director Roshdieh Discusses BRT, Microtransit in Montgomery County on Kojo Nnamdi Show

For Immediate Release: Tuesday, April 23, 2019

MCDOT Director Al Roshdieh and other area transit leaders joined Kojo Nnamdi to discuss the future of transit at noon today on the Kojo Nnamdi Show on WAMU 88.5.

During the program, which explored the role of buses in Washington’s larger transit landscape and efforts to improve the experience for new and existing riders, Roshdieh highlighted Montgomery County’s upcoming launch of the FLASH, a bus service with many Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) features that will be coming to route 29 in 2020 and planned for other major county corridors in coming years, including MD 355, Veirs Mill Road (MD 586), New Hampshire Avenue and North Bethesda Transitway. He noted the improved capacity and reliability advantages expected with the FLASH transit network; among its many features will be frequent schedules, real-time travel information, limited stops, level boarding friendly to cyclists and those with strollers, and off-board fare collection, all of which will result in speedier transit.

Roshdieh also discussed the County’s green fleet and its upcoming microtransit pilot program, which is designed to test solutions to the first mile / last mile gap in the transit network through on-demand bus transportation. The pilot program, scheduled to launch in late June, will offer limited service in defined Rockville and Wheaton/Glenmont zones. An open house to describe the service and solicit public input is scheduled for Thursday, April 25.

Roshdieh was joined by Robert Puentes, executive steering committee chair of the Washington Area Bus Transformation Project; Jeff Marootian, director of the District Department of Transportation; Lynn Rivers, transit bureau chief for Arlington, Va.; and Luz Lazo, transportation reporter for the Washington Post.

Program guests also discussed regional collaboration through the Bus Transformation Project and ongoing efforts to better serve area residents who begin and end their commutes in different jurisdictions in the greater Washington region.

Listen to the Kojo Nnamdi program.

Release ID: 19-060
Media Contact: Maureen McNulty 240-777-7199