The county’s Department of Transportation is planning to create a crowd-sourced app that will give riders and DOT’s central dispatch real-time information on the status of bus routes and passenger counts.
The county’s Department of Transportation will implement its Seniors and Persons with Disabilities Ride Free Program for the long term including after fares are resumed on the county bus system, which includes Ride On, Ride On extRa, Flex, and Flash buses.
The Maryland Transit Administration has released new photos of the cars that will make up the light rail vehicles serving the Purple Line.
The county’s Shared Streets program, a pandemic initiative allowing residents and businesses to use public spaces for in-street activities such as biking, walking, outdoor dining and retail activity, will continue through the summer.
The county’s Planning Department has released a study that recommends a series of proposals that could strengthen diverse retailers in three areas. The Retail in Diverse Communities Study looked at three communities—Silver Spring, Takoma-Langley Crossroads, and Wheaton—where local businesses have faced recent challenges not only from the pandemic, but also from redevelopment (primarily Wheaton) and Purple Line construction.
All Maryland residents aged 16 and older are eligible as of today (April 6) for a COVID-19 vaccination at the state’s mass vaccination sites, Gov. Larry Hogan (R) announced yesterday. In addition, the governor said that all residents 16 and older will be eligible to receive a vaccine from all providers, such as pharmacies and hospitals, as of Monday, April 12.
Ride On and Flash bus service will remain free until at least the end of the fiscal year on June 30, County Executive Marc Elrich announced yesterday evening. The change reverses a Department of Transportation decision released earlier this week to start charging $2 fares again on Monday, April 5. Fare collections had been suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The county’s Department of Transportation will begin collecting fares and changing boarding procedures on all Ride On, Ride On extRa and Flash buses beginning Monday, April 5. Passengers will now be able to board through the front doors and no longer forced to use the rear doors, though rear boarding will still be used for Flash buses.
Purple Line contractors plan to begin two additional utility relocation projects in Silver Spring on Monday, Dec. 21, weather permitting, according to the Maryland Transit Administration. The first involves relocating both underground and overhead utilities along a stretch of 16th Street. The project will start at Lyttonsville Road, just south of Second Avenue, and go to Spring Street.
The State of Maryland and its partners – Meridiam, Star America, and Fluor – this week announced they had reached a $250 million agreement that settles all outstanding financial claims and terminates the current litigation between the parties regarding the Purple Line project.
Metro is temporarily sidelining its fleet of 6000-series railcars following a train-separation incident on the Red Line Tuesday afternoon. The separation is the second since October when 6000-series cars separated outside Union Station.
Since mid-October, Capitol Heights-based Pessoa Construction has been performing utility relocations along Wayne Avenue in Silver Spring and Kenilworth Avenue in Riverdale for the Maryland Purple Line project.