Flash BRT

Flash is a bus rapid transit network in Montgomery County, Maryland with two corridors in operation and four future corridors under development.^[2] It is part of Montgomery County's Ride On bus system.

In the only corridor which is currently in operation, the Flash BRT service has two routes running along U.S. 29, both beginning at the Silver Spring Metro station and extending northeast. Route Blue has six total bus stops, ending at Burtonsville Park and Ride. Route Orange has eleven total bus stops, ending at Briggs Chaney Park and Ride.

The two routes (Blue and Orange) started on October 14, 2020, replacing Ride On route 129 and Metrobus route Z11.^[3] Buses go along the shoulder of U.S. 29 along the northern end of the route, with the remainder of the service using mixed-traffic roadways. Buses receive signal priority at some intersections.^[1]

Howard County has studied the possibility of extending the Flash line on the 29 corridor from Burtonsville Park and Ride to Maryland Route 99 in Ellicott City.^[4]

Scheduled to open circa 2028, the Veirs Mill corridor is planned to run along Veirs Mill Road between Wheaton Metrorail station and Rockville Metrorail station. The initial plan includes 11 stations, with a possible future extension to Montgomery College.^[5]

Scheduled to open circa 2029, the MD 355 corridor is planned to begin at Bethesda Metrorail station and run northwest along Maryland Route 355 through Rockville, Gaithersburg, Germantown, and Clarksburg.^[6]

This proposed route would run from North Bethesda Metro station to Montgomery Mall. Early planning work is under way as of 2025 but an opening date has not been announced yet.^[7]

This proposed route would run along New Hampshire Avenue between as yet undetermined end stations near the DC line and Colesville. Early planning work is under way as of 2025 but an opening date has not been announced yet.^[8]

The Montgomery Country Department of Transportation purchased 16 Nova Bus LFS articulated buses (46000D-46015D) for the U.S. 29 line, which is based out of the Gaithersburg garage. These buses can fit up to 80 passengers and feature level boarding, onboard bike racks, and an automatic wheelchair securement system.^[9] The buses are also equipped with a pedestrian sensor, which alerts the driver when people are passing in front of the bus. Each bus also features a WiFi hotspot and USB-A charging ports. Passengers can board or exit the buses through any of their three doors.

Flash also uses 3 2008 40 foot Gillig Low Floor diesel buses (5737, 5744, and 5746) that are branded in the FLASH scheme.

Currently, all dedicated Flash buses in the Ride On fleet run on clean diesel, but other fuel options are currently being considered. In April 2024, MCDOT published their Zero Emissions Bus Transition Plan, to replace all buses in the Ride On fleet with zero emissions buses by 2035^[10]. As part of this plan, Ride On is planning to utilize hydrogen fuel cell buses on Flash service along the Veirs Mill Road corridor^[11] which is scheduled to enter service in 2028^[12].

There are approximately 45 stations proposed across the entire future network, with 12 stations currently operating on the US 29 routes. Each station includes a canopy, a seating area, and a fare payment machine that accepts SmarTrip cards along with traditional forms of payment, and a passenger information system that displays when the next bus is coming and a blue pylon mounted above the canopy that flashes when a bus is about to arrive.