RIP Connect-a-Ride Route D (Burtonsville-Laurel)

[Scrabbleship]

The Baltimore Business Journal reports.

If Metro wasn't in trouble, would some Z-route short-turns from Burtonsville to Laurel have been a good replacement, or are the Z9/Z29 an adequate enough service since the D was rush hour only.

[DCT S9Z4Z6]

yer righht.

WMATA is in trouble, but sevice to Laurel Mall, from Burtonsville would be great, IF there was funding available.

But if funding was available, then Route D would still be running in Feb, right?

[btconet]

I rode aboard the Z29 for the first time last week.  To my surprise, the bus had a DE62LFA on it.  Ridership probably topped out in the high 30s on the bus, and grew significantly lighter once leaving Burtonsville.  That said, we picked up about 4 people in the Laurel area in the Commerical Park and at the Hospital.

My personal nitpicks were as follows:

I caught the 411pm Z29 that was SUPPOSED to arrive at Laurel Mall at 453pm.  Despite traffic just being "ordinary heavy," we lost time quicky, arriving at Burtonsville about 10 minutes late, and ultimately at Laurel Mall at 505pm, 12 minutes behind.  As a result, I missed the Connect-a-Ride pulse at 5:00pm.

Aside from the trip above, NONE of the Z29 trips makes any good connection to the Connect-a-Ride hourly pulses.  6:15pm, 7:05pm - WTH?!? I guess by the time the 5:38pm gets there however late, it's an OK connection.

The dropoff spot is really pretty inconvenient compared to the pulse spot - one has to really walk the equivalent of 2 city blocks to reach Connect-a-Ride's pickup spot, crossing a busy wide street - not something you'd want to do with 5 minutes or less time.

South Laurel Park and Ride seems a little counterflow to the route's northerly course.  Given the population base in the area, why would one drive southerly to catch this bus and go northerly.

When I missed the pulse, I had to walk over a mile to get to Laurel MARC Station (no 87 or 89 came through during this time). 

So all things told, the real buses are nice, but the lack of connectivity and timing really kills the Z29 as anything other than a bus you use to get somewhere in a single seat ride.  Pretty disappointing.

[OrionFlyer]

Are the Z9 and Z29 ($3.10) Express Routes?

[79MetroExtraMD]

Are the Z9 and Z29 ($3.10) Express Routes?

Nope.

[btconet]

What I wouldn't mind seeing (probably some personal bias here) would be the Z29 ending around Laurel MARC instead of the South Laurel P&R, and either of the 87 or 89 extended west past Laurel to Burtonsville connecting with the Z6 and 900 buses to Columbia.

The mileage wouldn't be too great, but would add some better interconnectivity

[Tritransit Area]

Sadly, I'm not so familiar with those Metrobus services, especially since they generally run Monday thru Friday peak hours, no?  I do agree that it's best, in terms of route planning purposes, to offer every opportunity possible to connect with other local services. 

So, Route D...was it merely a duplication of the Z line?