The Montgomery County Council wants to build a new express bus system along congested I-270.
The council voted unanimously Tuesday to send their recommendation to Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley who will now decide if the plan should be submitted for a highly competitive federal construction bid.
According to the Washington Post, the system would be called the Corridor Cities Transitway (CCT) and would connect the Shady Grove Metro Station in Rockville with the Clarksburg area.
The council originally approved a light rail system in 2009, but concluded during their most recent vote that it would be too expensive at an estimated $800 million. The bus system will cost about $300 million less and would be ready much sooner.
“[Bus] rapid transit would occur approximately 10 years faster,” Council President Roger Berliner (D-Potomac-Bethesda) told the Post. “The consequence of that is huge in terms of economic benefit to our county.”
The Post reports that Maryland state officials seem more likely to approve a bus route rather than light rail. The bus line would have about 16 stations spaced about a mile apart. Each would have a platform for quick boarding and ticket machines where passengers would pre-pay.
