Flash BRT

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

Flash BRT
Overview
Owner	Ride On
Locale	Montgomery County, Maryland
Transit type	Bus rapid transit
Number of lines	1 operational and 7 under development
Number of stations	12 (operational) ~45 (overall)
Headquarters	Rockville, Maryland
Website	http://www.ridetheflash.com
Operation
Began operation	October 14, 2020 (U.S. 29 only)
Operator(s)	Ride On
Number of vehicles	19
Technical
System length	14 mi (23 km) on U.S. 29[1]
System map Flash BRT Legend US 29 Silver Spring Fenton Street Four Corners Burnt Mills Oak Leaf Drive FDA White Oak Transit Center April Lane Tech Road Castle Boulevard Briggs Chaney Park and Ride Burtonsville Park and Ride All stations are accessible. MD 586 Wheaton University Boulevard Norris Drive Connecticut Avenue Randolph Road Robindale Drive Aspen Hill Road Twinbrook Parkway Atlantic Avenue Edmonston Drive Rockville Montgomery College's Rockville campus MD 355 Bethesda MD 355 at Woodmont Avenue Medical Center Grosvenor-Strathmore North Bethesda Twinbrook Rockville MD 355 at Mannakee Street Shady Grove Gaithersburg Lakeforest Mall Transit Center MD 355 at Middlebrook Road MD 355 at Germantown Road MD 355 at Ridge Road Clarksburg Outlets This diagram: view talk edit

Corridors

Existing and planned corridors

U.S. 29 corridor

In the corridor which is currently in operation, the Flash BRT service has two routes designated as Blue and Orange 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 is planned to have nine total bus stops and end at the mall at Columbia Transit Center^[3]). 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.^[4] All the 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. The buses receive signal priority at some intersections.^[1]

Howard County has studied the possibility of extending the Flash Blue line on the U.S. 29 corridor from Burtonsville Park and Ride to the mall at Columbia Transit Center through Maryland Route 99 in Ellicott City.^[3][5]

Stations serving the U.S. 29 corridor

Station/bus stop name	Location	Connections	Facilities
Silver Spring	Bus Bay 229 8400 Colesville Road Silver Spring, MD 20910	Washington Metro Red Line MARC Train: Brunswick Line Purple Line (future) Metrobus: D40, D4X, P30, M70, D60, D6X, C87, M20, M52 and M54 Ride On: 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 28 MTA Maryland Bus: 915, 929 Shuttle-UM: 111	Transit center (existing) Capital Bikeshare
Fenton Street	Colesville Road & Fenton Street Silver Spring, MD 20910	Metrobus: P30, M52 and M54 Ride On: 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 20, 21, 22, 28 MTA Maryland Bus: 305, 315, 325	Capital Bikeshare
Four Corners	Northbound: Colesville Road & Lanark Way Southbound: Colesville Road & University Boulevard Silver Spring, MD 20901	Metrobus: M12, M52 and M54 Ride On: 9, 19, 21
Burnt Mills	Burnt Mills Shopping Center Silver Spring, MD 20901	Metrobus: M52 and M54 Ride On: 21, 22	Capital Bikeshare
Oak Leaf Drive	Northbound: Lockwood Drive & Northwest Drive Southbound: Lockwood Drive & Oak Leaf Drive Silver Spring, MD 20901	Metrobus: M52 and M54	Capital Bikeshare
FDA	Northwest Loop Road White Oak, MD 20903	Metrobus: M42 and M44, M6X MTA Maryland Bus: 203, 204
White Oak Transit Center	Lockwood Drive north of New Hampshire Avenue White Oak, MD 20904	Metrobus: M42 and M44, M60, M52 and M54	Capital Bikeshare
April Lane	Stewart Lane & April Lane White Oak, MD 20904	Metrobus: M52 and M54	Capital Bikeshare
Tech Road	Columbia Pike & Tech Road Silver Spring, MD 20904	Metrobus: M52 and M54	130 parking spaces
Castle Boulevard	Castle Boulevard & Castle Ridge Circle Silver Spring, MD 20904	Metrobus: M52 and M54	Capital Bikeshare
Briggs Chaney	Gateshed Manor Way & Briggs Chaney Road Silver Spring, MD 20904	Metrobus: M52 and M44 Ride On: 21, 39	Capital Bikeshare 240 parking spaces Public restrooms
Burtonsville	National Drive & US 29 Burtonsville, MD 20866	Metrobus: M52 and M54 MTA Maryland Bus: 201, 202, 203, 305, 315	Bus loop/drop off 500 parking spaces

Veirs Mill Road (MD 586) corridor

Scheduled to open circa 2028, the Veirs Mill Road (MD 586) corridor is planned to run along Veirs Mill Road between Wheaton and Rockville Metrorail stations. The initial plan includes 11 stations, with a possible future extension to Montgomery College's Rockville campus.^[3][6][7] This corridor will use hydrogen cell buses.^{[citation needed]}

MD 355 corridor

Scheduled to open circa 2029, the MD 355 corridor is planned to begin at Friendship Heights Metrorail station and run northwest along Maryland Route 355 through Rockville, Gaithersburg, and Germantown and end at Clarksburg Outlets.^[3][8][9]

North Bethesda corridor

This proposed route would run from North Bethesda Metrorail station to Montgomery Mall. Early planning work is under way as of 2023 but an opening date has not been announced yet.^[3][10]

New Hampshire Avenue (MD 650) corridor

This proposed route would run along New Hampshire Avenue between Fort Totten Metrorail station and Colesville Park and Ride. Early planning work is under way as of 2023 but an opening date has not been announced yet.^[3][11]

Randolph Road corridor

This proposed route would run along Randolph Road between North Bethesda Metrorail station and Adventist HealthCare White Oak Medical Center. Early planning work is under way as of 2023 but an opening date has not been announced yet.^[3]

Georgia Avenue corridor

This proposed route would run along Georgia Avenue between MedStar Montgomery Medical Center, formerly Montgomery General Hospital, and Montgomery College's Silver Spring/Takoma Park campus. Early planning work is under way as of 2023 but an opening date has not been announced yet.^[3]

University Boulevard (MD 193) corridor

This proposed route would run along University Boulevard between Wheaton Metrorail station and Takoma Langley Crossroads Transit Center. Early planning work is under way as of 2023 but an opening date has not been announced yet.^[3]

Buses

Gillig LF40 diesel bus

Nova Bus LFS articulated bus

The Montgomery Country Department of Transportation purchased 16 Nova Bus LFS articulated buses (46000D-46015D) for the U.S. 29 line, which are 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.^[12] The buses are also equipped with a pedestrian sensor, which alerts the driver when people are passing in front of the bus. Each bus has a free Wi-Fi hotspot and USB-A charging ports. Passengers can board or exit the buses through any of their three doors.

Flash also uses 3 of Ride On's 2008 40-foot (12 m) Gillig Low Floor diesel buses (5737, 5744, and 5746) that are branded in the FLASH scheme.

During icy weather conditions that prevent the use of the articulated buses, Flash uses the 2017 40-foot (12 m) Gillig LF40 BRT Plus diesel buses (44056D-44072D) that are branded in the Ride On extRa scheme.

In January 2025, Flash used 13 of Ride On's 2008 40-foot (12 m) Gillig Low Floor diesel buses (5726, 5728, 5730, 5732-5736, 5738/5739, 5742/5743, and 5745) during the 1st snow blizzard of the year.

In February 2025, Flash used 8 of Ride On's 2009 40-foot (12 m) Gillig Low Floor diesel buses (5747-5750 and 5753-5756) during the 2nd snow blizzard of the year.

Currently, all the dedicated Flash buses in the Ride On fleet run on clean diesel, but other fuel options are being considered. In April 2024, MCDOT published their Zero Emissions Bus Transition climate action plan, to replace all the buses in the Ride On fleet with zero emissions buses by 2035.^[13][14] As part of this plan, Ride On is planning to utilize hydrogen cell buses for the Flash BRT service along the Veirs Mill Road (MD 586) corridor,^[15] which is scheduled to enter service in 2028.^[16]

Stations

Four Corners station

There are approximately 45 stations proposed across the entire future network, with 11 stations currently operating on the US 29 routes (14 stations planned to operate 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, 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.^[17]