Projects in this program are intended to enhance mobility by providing convenient and affordable mass transit alternatives to single occupancy vehicle travel and to reduce traffic congestion and vehicle emissions.The goal of the County's Mass Transit Capital Program is to provide infrastructure, equipment, and supporting facilities for the operation of safe, reliable, convenient, and affordable public transportation systems to the residents of Montgomery County. The infrastructure, equipment, and supporting facilities for these transit systems must be constructed, maintained, rehabilitated, and replaced to ensure safety and operational effectiveness. HIGHLIGHTS Significantly advance the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) program. Funding...

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PROGRAM DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES

Projects in this program are intended to enhance mobility by providing convenient and affordable mass transit alternatives to single occupancy vehicle travel and to reduce traffic congestion and vehicle emissions.

The goal of the County's Mass Transit Capital Program is to provide infrastructure, equipment, and supporting facilities for the operation of safe, reliable, convenient, and affordable public transportation systems to the residents of Montgomery County. The infrastructure, equipment, and supporting facilities for these transit systems must be constructed, maintained, rehabilitated, and replaced to ensure safety and operational effectiveness.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Significantly advance the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) program. Funding is added to continue BRT System Development and to fully fund design and construction of the following corridors:
• Veirs Mill Road;
• MD 355 Central from Rockville to Germantown, including a new Lakeforest Transit Center; and
• U.S. 29 Phase 2, adding additional transit lane dedication to the corridor.
• Maintain annual funding in the Bus Priority Program to enhance Countywide bus system performance.
• Replace 234 diesel and natural gas Ride On buses with zero-emissions buses in FY27-32 with the goal of a transition to a 100 percent zero-emissions fleet by 2035.
• Construct a hydrogen generation and fueling site to provide green hydrogen fuel for Ride On buses.
• Add funding for parking and fueling infrastructure to support zero emission bus fleet expansions.
• Continue to support the construction of a mezzanine for the south entrance of the Bethesda Metrorail station in coordination with the Purple Line project.
• Provide oversight and financial support for the Purple Line project, which will provide significant economic and mobility benefits.
• Continue efforts to improve the condition of Ride On bus stops.
• Add funding to improve County park and ride lots.

PROGRAM CONTACTS

Contact Brady Goldsmith of the Department of Transportation at 240-777-2793, or Gary Nalven of the Office of Management and Budget at 240-777-2779 for more information regarding this department's capital budget.

CAPITAL PROGRAM REVIEW

The FY27-32 Mass Transit component of the Transportation capital budget includes 21 active projects. The program totals $1.33 billion over the six year period. This represents an increase of $289 million or 27.9 percent from the $1.04 billion in the Amended FY25-30 program. This increase is largely due to the addition of funding to design and construct dedicated median lanes for U.S. 29 Flash BRT, additional funding to implement BRT on MD 355 and Veirs Mill Road, and new funding for zero emission buses and related support infrastructure. The Mass Transit capital budget includes significant State and Federal aid to fund BRT projects in the County.

STATE TRANSIT PROGRAM/PURPLE LINE

In addition to transit projects programmed by Montgomery County, the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) develops and provides transit services within the County on the Brunswick MARC rail line from Brunswick to Silver Spring, providing a convenient connection to the Washington regional Metrorail system. MTA published a MARC Growth and Transformation Plan in June 2025, which envisions phased improvements to its Brunswick line to eventually achieve bidirectional and all-day service. MTA has not currently identified funding to implement these improvements beyond initial feasibility studies.

The State's Draft Consolidated Transportation Program (CTP) is released each October. Final action on the Statewide CTP is taken by the General Assembly.

The County continues to work with the State and its concessionaire under a Public Private Partnership for the 16-mile Purple Line light rail project. In addition to completing the design and construction of the project in the winter of 2027, the concessionaire will operate and maintain the light rail corridor for a period of 30 years. The County's CIP funds oversight of and financial support for this State project. The County is actively engaged with the community throughout the various project stages to minimize disruptions and support the residents and businesses along the construction corridor. The County is also providing technical review and oversight for the three County-funded projects (Bethesda Metro Station South Entrance, Silver Spring Green Trail, and Capital Crescent Trail) and the overall Purple Line project to ensure that they are in keeping with County standards and meet the County's goals.

BUS RAPID TRANSIT

The Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) continues to advance Flash BRT to deliver a new high-quality, high-capacity transit option in the County. Making efficient use of existing roadways, Flash provides a more robust and reliable system that will increase transit ridership and improve access throughout the County. The U.S. 29 Flash line completed construction and began operation in 2020, with design underway to add more dedicated bus lanes (U.S. 29 Phase 2), which are fully funded for construction in this CIP. In addition, design, land acquisition, and construction funding are included for two additional projects: MD 586 (Veirs Mill Road) and MD 355 Central from Rockville to Germantown. Heavily leveraging State grants and anticipated Federal aid, MCDOT will add dedicated bus lanes and construct level boarding platforms, intersection queue jumps, and other system improvements to provide Flash service with zero-emission BRT buses on these corridors. In addition, bicycle and pedestrian improvements associated with the Veirs Mill and Randolph Road Bicycle and Pedestrian Priority Areas (BiPPA) are being accelerated as part of the Veirs Mill Road BRT project to further increase access to Flash stations while improving pedestrian and bicycle safety along the corridor.

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