# 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. On October 13, 2008, TheBus began accepting payment using SmarTrip regional farecards. The county has contracted operations and maintenance of THE BUS system to RATP Dev. In 2024, the system had a ridership of 2,441,500 or about 8,400 per weekday as of the fourth quarter of 2024.

## History

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 routes that Prince George's County started off operating were routes 20 and 21. Route 20 would operate between Addison Road station 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.
Beginning in 2023, TheBus partnered with Metrobus to redesign its current network dubbed as Better Bus. After months of proposals, on November 21, 2024, WMATA approved its Better Bus Network Redesign, which began in 2022. Under the plan, all routes will be renamed with easier to understand route designations, and modify most of its existing routes with the goal of making the bus system easier to use, faster, and more reliable. Changes are expected to start on June 29, 2025. All TheBus routes will be renamed with a P route designation.

## Authority

While bus service that is operated in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C. by Metrobus, or a local or state government in Maryland, is not required to have an Operating Authority from the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Commission, it is if it is operated by a non-government agency. Since TheBus is operated by RATP, Inc., it has operating authorization as WMATC 3226.

## Fleet

As of August 2023, TheBus operates an all-diesel fleet consisting of the following vehicles:
| 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 |
| Gillig Low Floor | 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 | 35 ft (10.67 m) | 63032–63036 (5 buses) | 5 | Entered service in August 2020 |
| Gillig Low Floor BRT | 2020 | 29 ft (8.839 m) | 63017–63031, 63037–63045 (23 buses) | 23 | |
| Proterra Catalyst | 2021 | 35 ft (10.67 m) | 63052–63055 (4 buses) | 4 | Unveiled on April 29, 2021 |
| Proterra ZX5 | 2022 | 35 ft (10.67 m) | 63056–63063 (8 buses) | 8 | |
| ElDorado National Axess BRT | 2022 | 30 ft (9.144 m) | 63064–63069 (6 buses) | 6 | |

### Retired Fleet

| Year | Builder and model name | Numbers (preserved numbers) | Year Retired | Notes |
| 1990 | Flxible Metro B | 9485, 9493, 9497 | | Ex-WMATA buses, acquired between 2006 and 2007 |
| 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 | | |
| 2000–01 | 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 | Terminals | Major streets | Service Notes | History |
| 11 | Greenbelt | Greenbelt station | 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. |
| 27 | Landover/Downtown Largo | Landover station | Downtown Largo station | Pennsy Drive Landover Road Dodge Park Road 75th Avenue | Weekdays Peak Hour Service Only | Began service on June 3, 2024 |
| 28 | Woodmore/Jericho | Downtown Largo station | 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. |
| 51X | Equestrian Center/Courthouse | Equestrian Center | 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. |
| 61 | Greenbelt /Laurel Town Centre | Greenbelt station | Laurel | | Weekdays Peak Hour Service Only | Began service on June 3, 2024 |

### 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 | Terminals | Major streets | Notes and History |
| 12 | West Hyattsville/Chillum/Mt. Rainier | West Hyattsville station | Gwen Britt Senior Center | Hamilton Street 38th Street Rhode Island Ave. 34th Street Chillum Road | Suspended in March 2020 following the COVID-19 pandemic. Partially replaced by Route 19 |
| 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. |
| 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 Suspended in March 2020 following the COVID-19 pandemic. |
| 25 | Capitol Heights | Capitol Heights station | Capitol Heights station | East Capitol St. Central Avenue Capitol Heights Blvd. Marlboro Pike Southern Ave. | Operates as a loop Suspended in March 2020 following the COVID-19 pandemic. |
| 35S | Ft. Washington/National Harbor | Oxon Hill Park & Ride | Ft. Washington Senior Residences | National Harbor Blvd. Oxon Hill Road Livingston Road Ft. Washington Rd. | Suspended in March 2020 following the COVID-19 pandemic. |
| 51A | Upper Marlboro/Marlboro Meadows | Equestrian Center | Marlboro Meadows | Marlboro Pike | Introduced on August 24, 2020, to replace the suspended Route 53. Discontinued on May 30, 2022, after Route 53 resumed service. |
| 51B | Upper Marlboro/Marlboro Village | Equestrian Center | Correctional Center | Old Marlboro Pike | Introduced on August 24, 2020, to replace the suspended Route 53. Discontinued on May 30, 2022, after Route 53 resumed service. |
| 52 | Equestrian Center – Courthouse Shuttle | | | | |