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Buses to transport inaugural visitors
Officials prepare for crowds, traffic
Friday, Dec. 19, 2008
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Keller Transportation will run bus services Jan. 19 and 20 to accommodate Southern Marylanders wishing to attend the presidential inauguration festivities in Washington, D.C., Maryland Transportation Administration officials announced this week.
Officials hope the buses, which will operate from nine park and ride lots across the state to the nearest Metrorail station, will ease traffic congestion in and around the District that could jam up the city for hours.
The commuter buses would not normally operate on Martin Luther King Jr. Day or Inauguration Day because federal employees are off, but because of the occasion's significance, MTA went to work on a plan to keep folks off the roads.
"Once we started getting estimates from Washington, they asked us … to find out what [we were] doing to accommodate people who may pass through the state to get to Washington, D.C.," said Jawauna Greene, an MTA spokeswoman. "We had to put together a strategic plan. We knew we had two major resources, commuter buses and MARC trains. By having presale tickets and designated locations they can be sure to have a guaranteed ride home."
A roundtrip ticket will cost $10 per rider.
MARC train routes allow residents in northeastern and central parts of Maryland to travel into Washington, D.C., and inauguration visitors will have to reserve seats on them.
Commuter buses will leave from Charlotte Hall, Waldorf, Prince Frederick and Dunkirk and will drop customers at the Branch Avenue Metro Station in Marlow Heights, said David Richardson, Keller's general manager. No reservations can be made.
On Jan. 20, a bus will leave and return every 10 minutes from Regency Furniture Stadium on Linus Drive in Waldorf between 4:30 and 8:30 a.m. and 4 and 8 p.m. A bus will leave and return every 15 minutes from the Charlotte Hall, Dunkirk and Prince Frederick park and ride lots between 4:15 and 8:15 a.m. and 4 and 8 p.m.
Greene said she expects the buses to be at full capacity and MTA and State Highway Administration officials are currently working together to dedicate certain roads as bus-only for 30,000 buses expected to travel to the region. As the date nears, they will work on reevaluating schedules for estimated traffic patterns or adding routes or buses.
"I think the whole state of Maryland and D.C. are holding their breaths. We don't know what to expect," Richardson said.
On Martin Luther King Day on Jan. 19, buses will leave and return to Waldorf every 20 minutes between 5:30 and 9:30 a.m. and 4 to 8 p.m. In Charlotte Hall, Prince Frederick and Dunkirk, they will operate every 30 minutes between 5:30 and 9:30 a.m. and 4 and 8 p.m.
