The Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) encourages residents to try public transportation ahead of Earth Day on Monday, April 22.
Walking, biking or taking public transportation reduces harmful pollution and lessens traffic congestion.
While all bus service saves emissions over independent car travel, MCDOT commits to a zero-emission bus fleet by 2035. The department has 14 electric buses in operation and a contract to purchase 100 additional electric vehicles over the next three years.
“Frankly, my hope is, should financial conditions improve, we can actually accelerate that,” said County Executive Marc Elrich to MCM during his weekly meeting on March 28. “It would take one of two things: economic conditions improve or the price of batteries or hydrogen comes down enough that you can buy more buses for the same amount of money.”
The County is developing green charging infrastructure to support these buses. In October 2022, the County unveiled its first solar-powered microgrid for bus charging at the Brookville Bus Depot in Silver Spring.
In 2023, MCDOT received a federal grant to purchase its first 13 hydrogen buses and a fueling station that will break ground next year. This project coincides with the County’s second solar-powered microgrid at the Gaithersburg bus depot, which starts construction this spring.
“We have a flexible zero-emission plan that will allow us to take advantage of emerging zero-emission technology,” said MCDOT Director Chris Conklin in a press release. “The new hydrogen buses we are planning for will allow coverage of some of our longer-range routes. We are planning to use those buses on the Veirs Mill Flash Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor. Flash is our County’s branded BRT line that is being built to connect the County better. It has all the benefits of rail, with less cost. The Flash network will have a huge impact on the way we travel in Montgomery County.”
The first Flash corridor now runs on U.S. 29, Colesville Road/Old Columbia Pike, traveling between Downtown Silver Spring and Briggs Chaney, with stops as far north as Burtonsville during weekday rush hour periods. Flash BRT provides a higher frequency of service than typical bus schedules and amenities like USB charging, level boarding and pre-payment of fare for faster service.
Switching to public transportation, even occasionally, can make a difference. Every car on the road releases about a pound of carbon dioxide emissions with every mile driven. Public transportation saves the U.S. an estimated 37 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually.
“Small behavior changes can really add up to a large environmental impact,” said Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich in a press release. “We know that 42 percent of our County’s greenhouse gas emissions come from the transportation sector, mostly from privately owned cars. The average car emits nearly five metric tons of carbon dioxide every year. The more people we can help take transit and leave their cars at home could have a huge impact on our air quality and our climate goals.”
