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TransIT

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1. What is Transit?

Transit Services of Frederick County, or Transit, is Frederick County’s public transportation system providing local bus service and demand-response paratransit services, as well as offering commuter assistance and employer outreach information. 

2. How do I ride the bus?

a. First, determine which route serves the area where you want to travel. For example, if you are planning a trip to FCC, consult the 60 or 61/FCC Connector route brochures. Google Maps is an online tool that can also be used to plan transit trips from your smartphone or desktop computer. Determine when you would like to arrive at your destination and look at the bus arrival times to determine which best suits your needs.

b. Next, determine where and when you will need to catch the bus in order to arrive at your destination at the desired time. Plan to arrive at the bus stop five minutes early. It may be necessary for you to transfer if the bus that serves your destination does not serve the area in which you plan to board the bus. If so, consult the route brochure for the route that serves the area in which you want to board the bus, and find the transfer point between the two routes. For example, if you want to board the bus at FSK Mall to travel to FCC, you will have to transfer from the 20/FSK Mall Connector to the 60 or 61/FCC Connector at the Transit Center in downtown Frederick.

3. How do I transfer between routes?

It may be necessary for you to transfer buses to reach your destination. Use the route brochure or online schedule to find the best transfer point between the two routes. Google Maps lets you easily plan trips and provides real-time route information to help you better manage transfer points. 

Transfers are free for all riders. Alert the driver of your transfer destination point upon boarding your first route.  

An example transfer route: 

A rider who wants to get from FSK Mall to Frederick Community College (FCC) would have to make the following route transfer:

• Take the 20/FSK Mall Connector to the Transit Center in downtown Frederick 
• From the Transit Center, board the 60/FCC Connector 
• Take the 60/FCC Connector to Frederick Community College 

4. What is a route deviation?

Six Connector routes offer deviated route service. Passengers may request a route deviation within ¾ mile of the route. If requested, buses can deviate up to ¾ of a mile off the regular route to pick you up or drop you off closer to your origin or destination. Requests for route deviations must be made one business day in advance. 

5. How much does it cost to ride the bus?

All Transit Services are currently free.

6. Where do the Transit buses go?

a. Transit's Connector buses serve Frederick City and urbanized areas of Frederick County serving medical, employment, education, and shopping centers. Six Connector routes deviate within a ¾ mile corridor of the route (by request).

b. Commuter shuttles operate each weekday between Frederick, North Frederick, and the Route 85 business corridor. The East Frederick shuttle serves the Spring Ridge area, MVA, and FCC Monroe Campus Monday through Friday. The Brunswick/Jefferson and Emmitsburg/Thurmont Shuttles operate Monday through Saturday.

c. Two Meet-the-MARC shuttle routes operate each weekday providing service to the downtown Frederick and Point of Rocks train stations; the shuttles serve the Monocacy MARC Station upon request.

d. Transit-plus, Transit's demand-response paratransit system is a curb-to-curb service anywhere within Frederick County.

7. What are the bus service hours?

Generally, TransIT’s buses run from 5:30am-9:30pm. Some routes begin and end earlier or later; refer to individual route brochures for specific timetables.

8. Do the buses travel outside of Frederick County?

Transit operates within Frederick County only. However, Transit provides service to all four of Frederick County's MARC train stations as well as drop-offs at locations where other services such as MTA's Commuter Bus, Greyhound, and BayRunner Shuttle travel out of County.

9. What is Transit-plus?

Transit-Plus is a demand-response curb to curb paratransit service for older adults and people with disabilities. ADA paratransit is available for people with disabilities that prevent them from using the fixed route bus service in the City of Frederick and Walkersville. Pre-registration is required.

10. What Commuter Services do you offer?

a. Commuter shuttles operate each weekday between Frederick, North Frederick, and the Route 85 business corridor. The East Frederick shuttle serves the Spring Ridge area, MVA, and FCC Monroe Campus Monday through Friday. The Brunswick/Jefferson and Emmitsburg/Thurmont Shuttles operate Monday through Saturday.

b. Two Meet-the-MARC shuttle routes operate each weekday providing service to the downtown Frederick and Point of Rocks train stations; the shuttles serve the Monocacy MARC Station upon request.

c. Vanpooling is an important and economical option for individuals commuting long distances. It is also good for the environment. This option is popular in the Metropolitan Washington area because of commuting distances to work sites. A company can give vanpoolers up to $130 in tax-free transportation benefits each month. Transit Services will assist new & existing vanpool/carpools in finding riders. Transit offers a financial subsidy for empty seats to vanpools in the first year of operation.
There are three kinds of vanpools:

1.Owner-operated vans — An individual leases or purchases a van and operates the van independently. Riders generally meet at a central location and pay the owner a set monthly fee.

2.Third-party vans — A vanpool "vendor" leases the vanpool vehicle for a monthly fee that includes the vehicle operating cost, insurance, and maintenance. The vendor can contract directly with one or more employees. The monthly lease fee is paid by the group of users. Military personnel may also benefit from this vanpooling arrangement.

3.Employer-provided vans — The employer (or a group of employers) buys or leases vans for employees’ commute use. The employer organizes the vanpool riders and insures and maintains the vehicles. The employer may charge a fee to ride in the van or subsidize the service. Check with your company’s Human Resources department.

d. Ridematching- Frederick County is a member of the Washington Metropolitan Council of Governments Commuter Connections. A computerized car and vanpool matching service is offered free to all commuters. Complete the on-line application at commuterconnections.org.

e. Guaranteed Ride Home - Follow the link to Commuter Connections for information and an application for the Guaranteed Ride Home program. Guaranteed Ride Home (GRH) provides commuters who regularly carpool, vanpool, bike, walk or take transit to work with a reliable ride home when one of life’s unexpected emergencies arises. Commuters will be able to use GRH to get home for unexpected personal emergencies and unscheduled overtime up to 6 times per year. Restrictions apply, so be sure to read the participation guidelines. Best of all, the GRH ride home by taxi, rental car, bus or train is FREE!

11. Do you have ADA compliant services?

a. Yes, Transit offers two paratransit services for persons with disabilities: Transit-plus and ADA Paratransit. The two services have different eligibility requirements and different service characteristics (including fares and advanced reservation requirements). Please refer to the Transit-plus Policies and Procedures (Transitplus Normas y Reglamentos) for more detailed information about Transit-plus.

i. Transit-plus is our countywide, shared-ride, curb-to-curb paratransit service for older adults and people with disabilities. Trips are provided on a first-come, first-served space-available basis. Passenger trips will be coordinated to serve as many people as possible and to use our vehicles in the most efficient manner

ii. ADA Paratransit is a service provided only to individuals with disabilities who are unable to ride accessible fixed-route public bus service because of their disability. ADA Paratransit service is designed to ensure that the civil rights of these individuals are guaranteed as protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). ADA Paratransit is comparable to Transit's fixed-route and shuttle bus service in Frederick and Walkersville in terms of service area, days and hours of service, fares and response time as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act and subsequent rulings of the U.S. Dept. of Transportation.

Transit's ADA Paratransit is a component of our Transit-plus service. ADA Paratransit’s eligibility criteria are more restrictive than those of Transit-plus (which is available to any senior or disabled person in Frederick County), but ADA Paratransit provides a higher level of service than does Transit-plus in order to meet fixed-route comparability standards as required under the ADA. Persons who are eligible for ADA Paratransit are also eligible for Transit-plus. However, persons who are eligible for Transit-plus are not necessarily eligible for ADA Paratransit.

b. Route Deviation- Six Connectors routes -- 10, 20, 60, 61, 65, 80 -- provide deviated fixed-route service Monday through Friday. These routes operate on a regular schedule and can also deviate within a 3/4 mile corridor along the route by request. To request a route deviation, call Transit at (301) 600-1725 at least one business day in advance. 

c. Accessible – All Transit buses operated on our Connector routes in Frederick City are either ramp or lift-equipped and have two wheelchair securement positions on board. Twenty-three (23) buses are also equipped with a “kneeler” feature, which allows the front of the bus to lower five inches to make the step from the curb to the bus easier. Drivers will engage this feature upon request.

12. Can I take my bike on the bus?

Yes. Each Transit bus has at least two bike securement locations. Commuters can bike to a Transit bus stop, secure their bikes on the bus bike rack, and ride Transit to their work sites. In addition, MARC and Commuter Bus riders may bike to the downtown station and use the bike racks provided to secure their bikes. MARC riders may also bring their bicycles onboard MARC Train. Visit MTA's website for more information on securing bicycles onboard MARC Train.

13. Where do I catch the bus?

a. Each Connector and shuttle route has designated stops indicated by bus stop signs. Transit's primary timed-transfer locations are the Transit Center in downtown Frederick and Frederick Towne Mall/Boscov's along the Golden Mile. Seven Connector routes meet at the the Transit Center hourly. During early morning and late afternoon peak hours, six of the Connector routes meet every half hour at the Transit Center. Five Connector routes meet at Frederick Towne Mall/Boscov's hourly. During early morning and late afternoon peak hours, three of the Connector routes meet every half hour at Frederick Towne Mall/Boscov's.

Bus stop signs are clearly indicated by green and white signs. The signs indicate the bus number that services its route. Route brochures each contain schedules with stop locations and a physical map. Flag stops exist in the City of Frederick Historic District and along Shuttle routes where safe and practical.

14. Will the bus stop if I am close to the stop?

Unless you are in an area where flag stops are permitted, you must be present at the bus stop when the bus arrives.

15. Does the bus only stop at bus stop signs?

a. Unless you are in an area where flag stops are permitted, you must be present at the bus stop when the bus arrives. Route deviation is also available with advanced notice.

b. Flag stops are permitted as follows:

In Frederick’s historic area (from South Street to 7th Street and from East Street to Bentz Street) flag stops will be permitted for all Connector and shuttle routes. You may flag the bus to stop at any traffic-controlled (stop sign or stop light) street corner along the route except: 1.Corners where the right lane must turn right and the bus route does not turn right 2.Corners where the bus route turns left from the left lane, and at 3.Corners where road conditions are such that a bus stop would be unsafe for passengers 4.On shuttle routes you may flag the bus to stop anywhere along the route within Emmitsburg, Thurmont, Brunswick, and Jefferson.

b. Route Deviation. Six “Connector” routes offer deviated route service. Passengers may request a route deviation within ¾ mile of the route. If requested, buses can deviate up to ¾ of a mile off the regular route to pick you up or drop you off closer to your origin or destination. Arrangements for route deviations must be made one business day in advance. 

16. How do I board the bus?

All Transit buses operated on our Connector routes in the City of Frederick and Walkersville are either ramp or lift-equipped and have two wheelchair securement positions on board. Twenty-three (23) buses are also equipped with a “kneeler” feature, which allows the front of the bus to lower approximately five inches to make the step from the curb to the bus easier. Drivers will engage this feature upon request and can do so for any passenger. Smaller cutaway vehicles may have a lift. All services are free therefore no tickets or cash fare is needed. 

17. How do I exit the bus?

As the bus enters the block where you wish to exit, pull the cord or touch the yellow strip along the insides of the bus to signal the driver to stop at the next bus stop or intersection. If the location is unsafe or is not permitted under our flag stop policy, the driver will stop at the next safe location.

18. Can I have food on the bus?

No, food and drinks are not permitted on any bus.

19. Can I bring a service animal on the bus?

Service animals are defined as animals that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities and are permitted onboard Transit vehicles. Non-service animals, including pets, are permitted but must be secured in an appropriate animal carrier.   Transit operators reserve the right to deny entry if not properly secured or under the rider’s control.

20. Can I bring a stroller on the bus?

Strollers are permitted on Transit vehicles.  Transit asks that you secure strollers, baby carriages, and portable shopping carts to ensure they are kept out of aisles.

21. How do I pay for a bus ride?

All Transit Services are currently free.