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Montgomery County Rapid Bus System To Cost $1.8B

By: Matt Bush // May 23, 2012
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The new bus rapid transit system would supplement Montgomery County's existing Ride On buses. 
Andrew Bossi: http://www.flickr.com/photos/thisisbossi/3362109096/
The new bus rapid transit system would supplement Montgomery County's existing Ride On buses. 

Plans to build a rapid-bus network throughout Montgomery County are taking shape.

A task force studying the issue now predicts the system can be built in three phases over the next nine to 20 years. Rapid buses are more like subway trains than traditional busses, as they use dedicated lanes on roads to remove them from traffic.

Building the rapid bus system will cost around $1.83 billion, according to the task force. The cost of operating the full network once it's completed will be approximately $176 million per year, or just over $1 million per mile, according to estimates.

The D.C. region is consistently ranked among the worst in the nation for traffic congestion, and County executive Isiah Leggett believes bus rapid transit will ensure that situation doesn't get worse, and Montgomery County does not fall even further behind.

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