County councilmember Valerie Ervin (D-District 5) says more people would take Ride-On buses if they stuck to a schedule. Transportation officials say it’s out of their hands.Correction appended. (Jan 31, 2007)
On Tuesday, Ervin told the council’s transportation committee that Ride-On’s reliability and frequency were hurdles to the area’s traffic problems.
“I cannot tell you how many people have said they would ride the bus if it weren’t for these issues,” she said.
Ervin, who represents Silver Spring, said employees at the US Food and Drug Administration’s White Oak facility were willing to leave their cars at home. However, sporadic bus service along New Hampshire Avenue deterred their use of mass transit.
Ride-On’s route 22 serves the White Oak area. According to the route’s weekday schedule, buses traveling north from the Silver Spring Metro station stop at the FDA facility every 20 to 30 minutes. During the evening rush hour, southbound buses run every 15 to 20 minutes.
“If we had options, we would use them,” Ervin quoted FDA employees.
(Earlier on Tuesday, the committee voted to keep the White Oak Connector on the county’s list of transportation priorities. The light-rail line would connect White Oak with the proposed Purple Line at the Silver Spring Transit Center.)
However, Ride-On buses will continue to stray from their schedules as long as the county’s roadways remain choked with traffic, explained Carolyn Biggins, chief of MoCo’s transit services division.
“We’re stuck in the water,” Biggins told the committee.
According to census data, the number of Montgomery County commuters using mass transit increased by 22 percent since 2000. However, for every person who takes mass transit to work, five people drive their own cars or ride in carpools.
Correction: According to an undated document from the county planning commission, the proposed White Oak Connector would link with the Purple Line at Langley Park, not Silver Spring. (Jan 31, 2007)
Photo courtesy of Oren’s transit page.
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Is the White Oak Connector supposed to go between White Oak and Silver Spring? The County seems to want it to go between White Oak and Langley Park because the right-of-way exists on New Hampshire Avenue for it. Of course, running it down Route 29 would make more sense, but it would be a lot more expensive because the transitway would have to be underground.
Thanks for your query, Courtyard.
I remember seeing a map of the proposed White Oak Connector. It ran from White Oak (or some point north) to the Silver Spring Metro station.
I’ll get back to you on that map.
If a purple line goes through Silver Spring, White Oak would be a major detour north…
You’re a good editor, Courtyard.
According to an undated document from the county planning commission, the White Oak Connector will run from Langley Park to White Oak.
Currently, a shuttle bus takes FDA employees to White Oak from Silver Spring and other Metro stations.