TheBus (Prince George's County)

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 2022, the system had a ridership of 13,848,200, or about 56,800 per weekday as of the third quarter of 2023.

TheBus

Route 14 at College Park UM Station
Founded	January 1990; 34 years ago (1990-01) ^[1]
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

History

 

A new version of The Bus Route 21X: Prince George's Community College

 

Gillig LF Diesel in Route U.S. 1 Ride Wrap on The Bus Route 17: Mount Rainier

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

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
	Gillig Low Floor	2009-2012	35 ft (10.67 m)	63188-63217, 62616, 62623-62628, 62633-62652 (68 buses)	57	62616 was previously operated by Charm City Circulator and Huskie Line as 0903
		2011-2012	29 ft (8.839 m)	62617-62622, 62629-62632 (10 buses)	10
	ElDorado National Axess BRT	2019	35 ft (10.67 m)	63011-63016 (6 buses)	6	Entered service on July 5, 2019
	ElDorado National E-Z Rider II BRT	2020		63032-63036 (5 buses)	5	Entered service in August 2020
	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	Unveiled on April 29, 2021
	Proterra ZX5	2022		63056-63063 (8 buses)	8
	ElDorado National Axess BRT		30 ft (9.144 m)	63064-63069 (6 buses)	6

Retired Fleet

Year	Builder and model name	Numbers (preserved numbers)	Year Retired	Picture	Notes
1990	Flxible Metro B	9485, 9493, 9497			Ex-WMATA buses, acquired between 2006–07
1996	Gillig Phantom 35'	62895-62899
1996-97	Champion Contender	62922-62935
1997	Orion Bus Industries Orion V (05.501)	8033–8036			Previously operated by New Orleans Regional Transit Authority (NORTA), Valley Coach, and Fairfax Connector
1999	Thomas Built Buses TL960 30'	62992-62994
2000-01	Thomas Dennis SLF230	63004-63008, 63017-63031, 63076-63078
	Goshen Presidential	63009-63016, 63039-63056, 63100			63100 is a 2004 model.
2001-02	Thomas Dennis SLF230	53012, 53015-53016, ?			Ex-MTA Maryland buses
	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		Replaced by ElDorado buses and Gillig BRTs
2008	Gillig Low Floor	63159-63170 (12 buses)	2021

Routes

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
11	Greenbelt	Greenbelt station		Hanover Parkway Crescent Road Cherrywood Lane	Weekday service only	Began service in July 1999 Operates as a loop
13A	West Hyattsville	Hyattsville Crossing station	West Hyattsville station	East-West Hwy. Queens Chapel Rd. Hamilton St. Ager Road	Weekday service only	Saturday service was discontinued on December 4, 2023.
14	Hyattsville Crossing Metro/College Park Metro via Riverdale Park	Hyattsville Crossing station	College Park station	River Road Good Luck Road East-West Hwy. Queensbury Road	Weekday service only	Began service in 2002 Extended to Hyattsville Crossing station on December 30, 2002 Service along Baltimore Avenue was discontinued on December 4, 2023. Route was rerouted to serve Riverdale station on December 4, 2023, which was previously discontinued in 2019.
15X	New Carrollton/Greenbelt	Greenbelt station	New Carrollton station	Greenbelt Road Cipriano Road Annapolis Road	Weekday Peak hours service only	Express Route Began service in September 2000
16	New Carrollton/Greenbelt	New Carrollton station	Greenbelt station	85th Avenue Good Luck Road Hanover Parkway Greenbelt Road Cherrywood Lane		Began service in July 2001 Service was extended to 8:00 pm on December 4, 2023.
17	College Park	IKEA (College Park, MD)	Mt. Rainier Terminal	Rhode Island Ave. Baltimore Ave.		via College Park station Began service in 2002 Extended to College Park IKEA and Langley Park on July 28, 2003 Extended to Mt. Rainier in November 2009
18	Langley Park/Addison Road	Takoma Langley Transit Center	Addison Road station	University Blvd. East-West Hwy. Queens Chapel Rd. Annapolis Rd. Martin Luther King Jr. Hwy.		via Hyattsville Crossing station Began service in September 2002 Service was extended to 8:00 pm on December 4, 2023. Service now directly serves Hyattsville Crossing station effective December 4, 2023; buses previously stopped outside the station.
19	West Hyattsville/Chillum	Hyattsville Crossing station	West Hyattsville station	East-West Hwy. Queens Chapel Rd. Hamilton St. Ager Road Chillum Road		Service began on June 1, 2021. Combination of Routes 12 and 13B inner loop.
20	Addison Road/Upper Marlboro	Addison Road station	County Courthouse	Addison Road Marlboro Pike Old Marlboro Pike Main Street
21	New Carrollton/Upper Marlboro	New Carrollton station	County Courthouse	Garden City Dr. Ardwick-Ardmore Rd. Landover Road Lottsford Road Largo Road	Every other Saturday trip ends at Downtown Largo station.	Rerouted to serve Downtown Largo station in December 2004. Service now operates via Lansdowne Village Apartments and Jericho City Drive effective December 4, 2023, replacing the discontinued Route 22.
21X	New Carrollton/MVA	New Carrollton station	Motor Vehicle Administration Largo	Garden City Dr. Ardwick-Ardmore Rd. Landover Rd. Campus Way	Weekday service only Express Route	Rerouted to serve Downtown Largo station in December 2004
23	Seat Pleasant	Cheverly station	Addison Road station	Columbia Park Rd. Cabin Branch Dr. Sheriff Road Nalley Road Central Avenue
24	Capitol Heights/Morgan Boulevard	Morgan Boulevard station	Capitol Heights station	Ritchie Road Pennsylvania Ave. East Capitol St.		Extended to Downtown Largo station in December 2004 Route 24 now serves Central Avenue, Hampton Park Boulevard, and Edgeworth Drive, swapping the original routing with Route 26.
26	Largo/Morgan Boulevard	Morgan Boulevard station	Downtown Largo station	Morgan Blvd. Hampton Park Blvd. Ritchie-Marlboro Rd. Truman Dr. Campus Way South Largo Road		Extended to Downtown Largo station in December 2004 Route 26 now serves Campus Way North and Lake Arbor Way, swapping the original routing with Route 24.
28	Woodmore/Jericho	Downtown Largo station		Largo Drive West Lottsford Road Arena Drive McCormick Drive Campus Way North	Weekday service only Operates as a loop	Extended to Downtown Largo station in December 2004
30	Branch Avenue/Medstar Southern Maryland Hospital	Branch Avenue station	Southern Maryland Hospital	Auth Road Allentown Road Temple Hill Road Piscataway Road Hospital Drive		Service was extended to 8:00 pm on December 4, 2023.
32	Naylor Road/Clinton	Clinton Fringe Parking Lot	Naylor Road station	28th Parkway Temple Hill Road Brinkley Road Coventry Way Woodyard Road		Service was extended to 8:00 pm on December 4, 2023.
33	Southern Avenue/Camp Springs	Southern Avenue station	Old Branch Avenue @ Allentown Way	Southern Avenue Owens Road Brinkley Road Allentown Road
34	Suitland Metro	Suitland station	Capital Crossing Apartments	Suitland Road	Weekday service only
35	Southern Avenue/National Harbor/Camp Springs	Southern Avenue station	Camp Springs (Old Branch Ave & Allentown Way)	Southern Avenue Indian Head Hwy. Oxon Hill Road Brinkley Road		via National Harbor Service was extended to Camp Springs (Old Branch Ave & Allentown Way) on December 4, 2023.
36	Clinton/Brandywine	MTA Park & Ride Lot	Clinton Fringe Parking Lot	Brandywine Road U.S. Route 301		Now circulates through Brandywine Crossing Shopping Center effective December 4, 2023.
37	Camp Springs/Southern Avenue	Camp Springs	Southern Avenue station	Allentown Road Indian Head Hwy. Southern Avenue	Weekday service only (AM to Southern Ave, PM to Camp Springs)	Originally WMATA Route W15. Was transferred to TheBus as Route 37 on June 21, 2015.^[9]
51X	Equestrian Center/Courthouse	Equestrian Center		Water Street	Weekday service only
53	Villages of Marlborough - Marlboro Meadows	Village Drive West at Clairfield Lane	Clairfield Lane - Arrival	Village Drive West Marlboro Pike Old Marlboro Pike	Weekday service only	Service to Equestrian Center was discontinued on December 4, 2023.

Suspended Routes

These routes have been temporarily suspended since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Route	Name	Terminals		Major streets	Notes
12	West Hyattsville/Chillum/Mt. Rainier	West Hyattsville station	Gwen Britt Senior Center	Hamilton Street 38th Street Rhode Island Ave. 34th Street Chillum Road	Partially replaced by Route 19
22	Morgan Boulevard	Morgan Boulevard station	Brightseat Road @ Evarts Street	Brightseat Road Sheriff Road Central Avenue Morgan Blvd.	Extended to Morgan Boulevard station in December 2004
25	Capitol Heights	Capitol Heights station		East Capitol St. Central Avenue Capitol Heights Blvd. Marlboro Pike Southern Ave.	Operates as a loop
27	Landover	Landover station		Pennsy Drive Landover Road Dodge Park Road 75th Avenue	Operates as a loop
35S	Ft. Washington/National Harbor	Oxon Hill Park & Ride	Ft. Washington Senior Residences	National Harbor Blvd. Oxon Hill Road Livingston Road Ft. Washington Rd.

Former Routes

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
15	Greenbelt – Goddard Corporate Park	Greenbelt station	Goddard Corporate Park	Greenbelt Rd. Crescent Rd. Cherrywood Ln. Hanover Pkwy.	Discontinued on December 19, 2010. Replaced by routes 11 and 16.^[10]^[11]
51A	Upper Marlboro/Marlboro Meadows	Equestrian Center	Marlboro Meadows	Marlboro Pike	Introduced on August 24, 2020 to replace the suspended Route 53.^[12]^[13] Discontinued on May 30, 2022 after Route 53 resumed service.^[14]
51B	Upper Marlboro/Marlboro Village	Equestrian Center	Correctional Center	Old Marlboro Pike
52	Equestrian Center – Courthouse Shuttle

References

1. https://ggwash.org/view/67275/thebetterbus-prince-georges-county-is-working-on-a-plan-to-improve-thebus-service /
2. "TheBus: Routes and Schedules". Prince George's County government. Retrieved 2008-12-06.
3. "Public Notice" (PDF). Prince George's County government. Retrieved 2008-12-06.
4. "Public Notice: Prince George's County TheBus will begin using new fareboxes..." (PDF). Prince George's County government. 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-06.
5. "RATP Dev USA Begins Operations as New Contract Provider for TheBus". 1 July 2020. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
6. @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.
7. @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.
8. "Prince George's County is Awarded Funding to Purchase New Electric Buses". 2020-10-13. Retrieved 2021-08-03.
9. . June 21, 2015. Archived from the original on June 13, 2015. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
10. "PGCT Existing Bus Service". 10 October 2010.
11. "PGCT Proposed Bus Service". 10 October 2010.
12. https://www.princegeorgescountymd.gov/ImageRepository/Document?documentId=31662^{[bare URL PDF]}
13. https://www.princegeorgescountymd.gov/DocumentCenter/View/29223/PGC-The-Bus-COVID-19-Public-Notices--overall-service-reduction-plan-v3^{[bare URL PDF]}
14. [1]

External links

• Official website
• TheBus at The Schumin Web Transit Center