ELLICOTT CITY, MD – The Howard County Department of Public Works’ (DPW) Transportation and Special Projects Division and the Office of Transportation (OoT) will host a public meeting on Wednesday, March 25th from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m., at the Howard County Library System’s Central Branch in Columbia, to provide an update on extending Montgomery County’s Flash Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) service along the US 29 corridor to Howard County. This meeting was previously scheduled to take place on March 16th; however, was cancelled due to forecasted severe inclement weather.
First envisioned more than a decade ago, Flash Bus Rapid Transit service will be a gamechanger for our economy, workforce, and residents. We are delivering on this vision to deliver strong transit connections that are vital to supporting the needs of our residents, workforce, and businesses. I encourage our community to attend this public meeting to learn more about the Flash BRT service that will come to Howard County later this year.
DPW’s Transportation and Special Projects Division and OoT are currently in the final engineering design phase of the transit stations to support the extension of Flash BRT. During the public meeting, DPW and OoT representatives will present these final design plans and additionally Flash BRT service information.
After the public meeting, the meeting materials and final design plans will be available on OoT’s “Flash Bus Rapid Transit” website for those to view who were unable to attend the event. Additionally, those who have questions about the plans or Flash BRT, should contact OoT at 410-313-4312 or email Transportation@howardcountymd.gov.
More than a decade in the making and Howard County’s first BRT service, this impactful and innovative project will connect transit riders to activity and employment centers within Howard County to Montgomery County and beyond, increasing the region’s available mobility and accessibility options for residents and visitors. Service within Howard County is anticipated to begin in fall 2026, with stops at Maple Lawn, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), and Downtown Columbia. The two proposed stations in Downtown Columbia are along Little Patuxent Parkway and Merriweather Drive. Construction is anticipated to begin in April 2026 and weather permitting, will take approximately six months to complete.
Once service is operational, this Flash BRT extension will launch as a peak hour service, meaning the buses will run between Downtown Columbia and Silver Spring during rush hour times in the morning and afternoon from Monday to Friday to accommodate employees. Morning service will run from 5:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., while afternoon service will run from 3:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Service will run on a 30-minute headway.
Previously, DPW and OoT hosted a community outreach meeting in September 2024, for the public to view preliminary design plans for the Maple Lawn and APL stations and provide input on potential station locations in Downtown Columbia. Additionally, in May 2025, DPW and OoT hosted two in-person community engagement opportunities to present the proposed Flash BRT Downtown Columbia station locations and concept plans, answer questions, and gather public comments.