TheBus (Prince George's County)
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Founded | January 1990[1] |
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Service area | Prince George's County, Maryland, U.S. |
Service type | Bus service |
Routes | 22 |
Fleet | Gillig, ElDorado National |
Daily ridership | 7,300 (2022) |
Annual ridership | 1,300,000 |
Fuel type | Diesel |
Operator | RATP Dev |
Website | TheBus |
TheBus (stylized as THE BUS) is a bus transportation system serving Prince George's County, Maryland, providing Monday-Saturday service. There are 29 bus routes, with most operating between Washington Metro stations in the county, with two routes running to Upper Marlboro. The fare is $1.25, but seniors (age 60+), the disabled, one child under five years old, and students (between 2:00PM and 7:00PM) ride free.[2][3] On October 13, 2008, TheBus began accepting payment using SmarTrip regional farecards.[4] The County has contracted operations and maintenance of THE BUS system to RATP Dev.[5] In 2023, the system had a ridership of 16,644,600, or about 58,500 per weekday as of the fourth quarter of 2023.
History[edit]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/76/The_New_Prince_George%27s_County_TheBus_21X.jpg/220px-The_New_Prince_George%27s_County_TheBus_21X.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/68/Prince_Georges_County_Transit_THE_BUS_Gillig_LF_Wrap.jpg/220px-Prince_Georges_County_Transit_THE_BUS_Gillig_LF_Wrap.jpg)
The idea for Prince George's County establishing its own transit system was initially brought up by Prince George's County in 1986, as a way of providing better transportation access to the Upper Marlboro Courthouse and other important government offices, that were isolated from many of the other areas of Prince George's County that were served by WMATA's Metrorail and Metrobus System. While WMATA itself could have easily have provided these areas of Prince George's County, it was not very cost effective for Prince George's County to allow WMATA to do so as WMATA would have charged Prince George's County for the costs of operating those particular bus routes. WMATA charges counties the costs of operating some routes, because as regional routes they were not profitable due to lower ridership. Therefore, Prince George's County decided it would be much cheaper for the county to operate their own transit system instead. Prince George's County learned watching Montgomery County's success of developing its own "Ride On" transit system in March 1975, which also was being asked by WMATA to pay for their buses on routes in Montgomery County. Thus, Prince George's County's "The Bus" system was created in January 1990.
The first two "The Bus" routes that Prince George's County started off operating were routes 20 and 21. Route 20 would operate between the Addison Road Metro Station (WMATA's Blue Line's northern terminus in Prince George's County at the time, prior to the Largo Town Center extension in December 2004) and the Upper Marlboro Courthouse. Route 21, on the other hand, would operate between the New Carrollton Metro Station (WMATA's Orange Line's northern terminus in Prince George's County) and the Equestrian Center, also serving the Upper Marlboro Courthouse as well. After observing the success of these two Prince George's County bus routes, Prince George's County decided to expand its routes in April 1996 from two routes to six. The Bus system was able to increase the number of routes it operated around this time as WMATA's northern Green Line stations in Prince George's County, which notably were the West Hyattsville, Prince George's Plaza, College Park U of MD, and Greenbelt opened about three years earlier in December, 1993. Thus, there were even more residential areas around these stations to serve. These additional routes would serve areas somewhat already served by WMATA's Metrobus and Metrorail system but instead provide additional transportation service to residents and business living in those areas. Even more routes were added as several Metro Green Line stations opened in January, 2001, which notably were the Southern Avenue, Naylor Road, Suitland, and Branch Avenue Metro Stations. Then, eventually, in December, 2004, PG County's The Bus expanded once again when WMATA's new Blue Line stations, Morgan Boulevard and the Largo Town Center Metro Stations, opened.
Beginning on November 7, 2020, TheBus launched new Saturday service on routes 13, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 24, 26, 30, 32, 33, 35, and 36. All routes operate every 30–45 minutes between 6:00 AM and 6:00 PM.[6][7]
Fleet[edit]
As of August 2023[update], TheBus operates an all-diesel fleet consisting of the following vehicles:
Photo | Builder and model name |
Model year | Length | Numbers (Total) |
Vehicles in service | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Gillig Low Floor |
2009-2012 | 35 ft (10.67 m) | 63188-63217, 62616, 62623-62628, 62633-62652 (68 buses) |
57 |
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2011-2012 | 29 ft (8.839 m) | 62617-62622, 62629-62632 (10 buses) |
10 | ||
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ElDorado National Axess BRT |
2019 | 35 ft (10.67 m) | 63011-63016 (6 buses) |
6 |
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ElDorado National E-Z Rider II BRT |
2020 | 63032-63036 (5 buses) |
5 |
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Gillig Low Floor BRT |
29 ft (8.839 m) | 63017-63031, 63037-63045 (23 buses) |
23 | ||
Proterra Catalyst |
2021 | 35 ft (10.67 m) | 63052-63055 (4 buses)[8] |
4 |
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Proterra ZX5 |
2022 | 63056-63063 (8 buses) |
8 | |||
ElDorado National Axess BRT |
30 ft (9.144 m) | 63064-63069 (6 buses) |
6 |
Retired Fleet[edit]
Year | Builder and model name | Numbers (preserved numbers) |
Year Retired | Picture | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1990 | Flxible Metro B |
9485, 9493, 9497 |
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1996 | Gillig Phantom 35' |
62895-62899 | |||
1996-97 | Champion Contender |
62922-62935 | |||
1997 | Orion Bus Industries Orion V (05.501) |
8033–8036 |
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1999 | Thomas Built Buses TL960 30' |
62992-62994 | |||
2000-01 | Thomas Dennis SLF230 |
63004-63008, 63017-63031, 63076-63078 | ![]() |
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Goshen Presidential |
63009-63016, 63039-63056, 63100 |
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2001-02 | Thomas Dennis SLF230 |
53012, 53015-53016, ? |
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Thomas Dennis SLF |
63128-63130 | ||||
2005-06 | Thomas Saf-T-Liner HDX |
63086-63099, 63101-63108 | 2015-16 | ||
2006 | Gillig Phantom 35' |
63139-63151 | 2020 | ![]() |
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2008 | Gillig Low Floor |
63159-63170 (12 buses) |
2021 |
Routes[edit]
All routes operate on Weekdays with select routes operating on Saturday. Service usually ends around 6:30 pm on most routes with some routes ending at 8:00 pm.
Route | Name | Terminals | Major streets | Service Notes | History | |
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11 | Greenbelt | Greenbelt station |
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13A | West Hyattsville | Hyattsville Crossing station | West Hyattsville station |
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14 | Hyattsville Crossing Metro/College Park Metro via Riverdale Park |
Hyattsville Crossing station | College Park station |
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15X | New Carrollton/Greenbelt | Greenbelt station | New Carrollton station |
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16 | New Carrollton/Greenbelt | New Carrollton station | Greenbelt station |
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17 | College Park | IKEA (College Park, MD) | Mt. Rainier Terminal |
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18 | Langley Park/Addison Road | Takoma Langley Transit Center | Addison Road station |
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19 | West Hyattsville/Chillum | Hyattsville Crossing station | West Hyattsville station |
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20 | Addison Road/Upper Marlboro | Addison Road station | County Courthouse |
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21 | New Carrollton/Upper Marlboro | New Carrollton station | County Courthouse |
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21X | New Carrollton/MVA | New Carrollton station | Motor Vehicle Administration Largo |
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23 | Seat Pleasant | Cheverly station | Addison Road station |
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24 | Capitol Heights/Morgan Boulevard | Morgan Boulevard station | Capitol Heights station |
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26 | Largo/Morgan Boulevard | Morgan Boulevard station | Downtown Largo station |
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28 | Woodmore/Jericho | Downtown Largo station |
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30 | Branch Avenue/Medstar Southern Maryland Hospital | Branch Avenue station | Southern Maryland Hospital |
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32 | Naylor Road/Clinton | Clinton Fringe Parking Lot | Naylor Road station |
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33 | Southern Avenue/Camp Springs | Southern Avenue station | Old Branch Avenue @ Allentown Way |
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34 | Suitland Metro | Suitland station | Capital Crossing Apartments |
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35 | Southern Avenue/National Harbor/Camp Springs | Southern Avenue station | Camp Springs (Old Branch Ave & Allentown Way) |
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36 | Clinton/Brandywine | MTA Park & Ride Lot | Clinton Fringe Parking Lot |
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37 | Camp Springs/Southern Avenue | Camp Springs | Southern Avenue station |
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51X | Equestrian Center/Courthouse | Equestrian Center |
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53 | Villages of Marlborough - Marlboro Meadows |
Village Drive West at Clairfield Lane |
Clairfield Lane - Arrival |
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Suspended Routes[edit]
These routes have been temporarily suspended since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Route | Name | Terminals | Major streets | Notes | |
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12 | West Hyattsville/Chillum/Mt. Rainier | West Hyattsville station | Gwen Britt Senior Center |
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22 | Morgan Boulevard | Morgan Boulevard station | Brightseat Road @ Evarts Street |
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25 | Capitol Heights | Capitol Heights station |
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27 | Landover | Landover station |
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35S | Ft. Washington/National Harbor | Oxon Hill Park & Ride | Ft. Washington Senior Residences |
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Former Routes[edit]
These routes have been served by TheBus at one point but have since been discontinued due to either low ridership, simplification to other routes, or combined into another route.
Route | Name | Terminals | Major streets | Notes and History | |
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15 | Greenbelt – Goddard Corporate Park |
Greenbelt station | Goddard Corporate Park |
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51A | Upper Marlboro/Marlboro Meadows | Equestrian Center | Marlboro Meadows |
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51B | Upper Marlboro/Marlboro Village | Equestrian Center | Correctional Center |
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52 | Equestrian Center – Courthouse Shuttle |
References[edit]
- ^ https://ggwash.org/view/67275/thebetterbus-prince-georges-county-is-working-on-a-plan-to-improve-thebus-service /
- ^ "TheBus: Routes and Schedules". Prince George's County government. Retrieved 2008-12-06.
- ^ "Public Notice" (PDF). Prince George's County government. Retrieved 2008-12-06.
- ^ "Public Notice: Prince George's County TheBus will begin using new fareboxes..." (PDF). Prince George's County government. 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-06.
- ^ "RATP Dev USA Begins Operations as New Contract Provider for TheBus". 1 July 2020. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
- ^ @PGCountyDPWT (November 6, 2020). "Traveling throughout Prince George's County just got easier! Tomorrow, Saturday, November 7, 2020 "The Bus" will la…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ @PGCountyDPWT (November 7, 2020). "Saturdays are for "The Bus"! Prince Georges County and DPW&T are proud to launch Saturday service today for all our…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Prince George's County is Awarded Funding to Purchase New Electric Buses". 2020-10-13. Retrieved 2021-08-03.
- ^ "Metrobus Service Changes Beginning June 21". June 21, 2015. Archived from the original on June 13, 2015. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
- ^ "PGCT Existing Bus Service". 10 October 2010.
- ^ "PGCT Proposed Bus Service". 10 October 2010.
- ^ https://www.princegeorgescountymd.gov/ImageRepository/Document?documentId=31662 [bare URL PDF]
- ^ https://www.princegeorgescountymd.gov/DocumentCenter/View/29223/PGC-The-Bus-COVID-19-Public-Notices--overall-service-reduction-plan-v3 [bare URL PDF]
- ^ [1]
External links[edit]
- Official website
- TheBus at The Schumin Web Transit Center