TransIT

TransIT Services
of Frederick County

Headquarters	1040 Rocky Springs Road
Locale	Frederick, Maryland
Service area	Frederick County
Service type	bus service, paratransit, commuter services, travel training
Routes	15
Fleet	33 buses
Website	Transit Services

Transit Services of Frederick County is a public transportation agency in Frederick County, Maryland, that is operated by the county government. The agency currently operates 9 Connector bus routes, mostly in the city of Frederick, 6 shuttles, and demand-response for seniors and persons with disabilities.^[1] Transit provides connections to other public transportation services in the region, including the MTA Maryland's routes 204 and 515 commuter bus and MARC Train service. According to the agency's homepage, the service had approximately 928,650 riders in FY 2025.^[2]

Transit Services is the result of merging the former Trans-Serve Frederick County shuttles and the Frederick City Transit lines in 1992.

Connector bus routes operate Monday–Friday, and routes 10–65 also provide Saturday service. The agency does not operate any of its routes on Sunday or Federal Holidays. Most routes provide midday service (every 30 minutes) in addition to hourly service Monday–Friday.

In April 2014, the fare for a one-way trip using Transit for the general public was $1.25 with a monthly pass costing $45.00. In June 2014, the one-way trip fare for the general public increased to $1.50. At the same time, the fare for TransIT Plus also increased.^[3]

Youth and students do not get a discount on one-way trip fare, but do get a discounted rate of $30.00 for a monthly pass. Seniors and disabled persons have a discounted one-way trip fare of $0.60 and a discounted monthly pass rate of $30.00. Ten trip passes can be purchased for $12.00 for the general population, $8.00 for students and youth, and $5.50 for seniors and disabled persons. Transfers are free, and most routes have timed transfers with other routes at the TransIT Center, which is at the city's downtown MARC rail station.

If the bus needs to deviate from its normal route for a stop, an additional $1.50 is charged to the passenger and 24 hours heads up must be given.^[4] In March 2020, Transit became free to ride on all Connectors and Shuttles. It has remained free ever since.

TransIT currently has a fleet composing of full length buses for their connector routes as well as cut-away para transit vehicles used for shuttles and TransIT+ services. Currently, the fleet subsets are replaced and returned on average every 14 years, the maximum service life for a bus permitted by Maryland law.

Currently there are 24 buses and 35 para-transit cut-away buses on the active fleet, along with several minivans, and passenger cars used for various TransIT special needs services.

In March 2010, TransIT bought six new Gillig Advantage buses that have replaced the aging 300-series acquired when TransIT formed in the early 1990s. These buses have a simplified stripe which does not slope up over the windows on to the roofline at the rear of the bus.

Two additional Gillig Advantage low floor buses arrived, purchased with federal grants, the new buses sport a different paint livery and are the first hybrid buses in the system. These buses have a battery pack on the roof and use a Cummins ISB engine.

In 2018, TransIT acquired six new hybrid buses split between two deliveries of ElDorado National E-Z Rider II buses to replace older high floor buses that were removed from service due to reliability issues or accident damage. The first batch of three buses 956-958 entered service in July 2018, while the second group 122-124 entered service in October 2018.

In late 2019, TransIT began receiving four new K7M thirty-foot buses from Chinese builder BYD. The first of these buses began testing in March, before finally entering revenue service in July. As of December 2020, all four buses, 364-367 have been accepted and are now in service replacing the last few remaining Orion V buses from the 2005 order.^[5]

A temporary bus, #959, a Champion Defender, thirty-five foot bus was acquired used to make up a shortfall in the roster until new buses on order arrive in mid-2021 to begin replacing the 2010 Gillig Advantages buses which are now at the end of their usable service life. These buses are being retired early due to service reliability issues.

In June 2023, TransIT Gillig Advantage bus 981 had been retired with 982-986 expected to follow suit due to state service life requirements. Six new ENC EZ-Rider II buses are expected to be delivered shortly starting with 39652. As of December 2024, three buses have entered service.

In November 2024, TransIT acquired several former Maryland MTA buses dating from 2010 that the system had dispositioned consisting of 40 foot New Flyer buses which include MY 2009 DE41LFR numbered 40225, MY 2010 D40LFRs numbered 40226–40227, and a lone MY 2012 XD40 Xcelsior numbered 40228. In February 2025, D40LFR 40227 which had not been placed in revenue service due to ongoing mechanical issues was removed from the active fleet roster. Shortly after bus 40226 suffered a driveline failure and too was removed from service. In July 2025, both busses were stricken from the roster as well as Gillig 986 which had become a parts donor in recent years.

In August 2025, new Gillig Advantage buses starting with 40003, followed by 400004, 40389 and 40390 were delivered to the agency. These were the first buses to appear with the new Transit Services of Frederick County arrow logo and will replace the remaining twenty-nine foot Gillig fleet as well as the two thirty-five foot Gillig hybrids that are now over a decade old.

Buses are numbered according to the last three digits of Frederick County's purchase requisite number which results in a non-linear asset number.

Year	Image	Manufacturer	Model	Length (ft)	Fuel type	Fleet Series	Engine	Transmission
2010		Gillig	Advantage Low Floor	29'	Diesel	981–986	Cummins ISL9 EPA10	Allison B400R
2011			Advantage Low Floor HEV	35'	Hybrid	157–158		Allison H 40 EP hybrid system
2009		New Flyer Industries	DE40LFR	40'		40225	Cummins ISL EPA07	Allison EP40 Hybrid System
2010						40226-40227	Cummins ISL9 EPA10
2012			XDE40			40228		Allison H 40 EP hybrid system
2018		ElDorado National	E-Z Rider II	32'	Diesel	956–958	Cummins B6.7 EPA17	Allison B300R
		Champion Defender	Frieghtliner M2	35'		959	Cummins L9 EPA17	Allison 2500 PTS
2019		ElDorado National	E-Z Rider II	32'		122–124	Cummins B6.7 EPA17	Allison B300R
2020		BYD	K7M	30'	Electric	364–367
2024		ElDorado National	E-Z Rider II	32'	Diesel	39652-39653 & 39740	Cummins B6.7 EPA21	Allison B300R
2025		Gillig	Advantage Low Floor	35'		40003-40004, 40389–40390	Cummins L9 EPA24	Allison B400R

The original Frederick City Transit bus system utilized several former Frederick County Public School buses fitted with rear exit doors. These buses were numbered 101 and 102 and painted white.

Frederick City's first new bus order consisted of 1981 vintage TMC T-30 Citycruiser thirty foot buses (a license-built version of the Ontario Bus Industries (OBI) Orion I), which served the original Red and Blue Routes and were numbered 200–203. Frederick City purchased one lone Orion I thirty foot model transit coach built in 1987 (old faithful, number 204) to serve the new White Route that ran from downtown to the city's north end.

Soon after the formation of TransIT Services of Frederick County, TransIT purchased four new Orion V, thirty foot models (numbered 322–325) in 1994 to replace the original three TMC buses. The Orion V buses wear the new green over white color scheme. Due to acceptance testing delays, TransIT operated for several weeks under a combination of the original TMC/Orion I fleet and three thirty foot Flxible Metro buses on loan from Maryland MTA. The MTA buses however were suburban models and lacked a rear exit door.

In 2001, TransIT ordered five Thomas Dennis SLF-230 low-floor buses (numbered 917–921). Service was announced and expanded before the new buses arrived due to a delivery delay from the builder. Rather than delay service for 13 months, five small front engine used Spartan/Champion "Breadboxes" (re-badged, Goshen "Transette" buses) were purchased for short term use. The breadbox buses were used for the old "FLEX" routes, which supplemented the connector routes. The low-floor Thomas buses arrived in 2002 and the breadboxes stayed in service until the last ones were sold in 2010.

Due to increase service demand, several more used Breadboxes were purchased later the same year. All of the breadboxes arrived with front entry doors and a rear wheelchair lift at the very back end of the coach. However, the first order had black banding around the windows while the second order did not.

In 2003, TransIT purchased seven new standard Orion V models (numbers 922–928) with an additional seven delivered in 2004 (numbered 060–066). In 2005, the old Frederick City Transit—number 204 was sold, ending the era of the Frederick City Transit blue over white colors.

TransIT took bids in late 2013 to replace the five SLF400 buses nearing their service life. In 2015, TransIT placed an order for five re-manufactured, Gillig Advantage all-electric buses from Complete Coach Works (CCW). The new buses are numbered 779-783 and entered revenue service on June 1, 2016. Due to reliability issues, these buses were retired in the fall of 2024.

Year	Image	Manufacturer	Model	Length (ft)	Propulsion	Fleet series	Total
1976		Superior	Pioneer 40	40'	Diesel	101–102	2
1981		Transportation Manufacturing Corporation	Citycruiser	30'	Diesel	200–203	3
1987		Orion	Orion I	30'	Diesel	204	1
1994		Orion	Orion V	30'	Diesel	322–325	4
1997		Champion Bus Incorporated	Breadbox	25'	Diesel	246–248	3
1998						872–874	3
2002		Thomas Dennis	SLF-230	30'	Diesel	917–921	5
2003		Orion	Orion V	30'	Diesel	922–928	7
2004						060–066	7
2016		Complete Coach Works/Gillig	Advantage Low Floor ZEPS	35'	Electric	779–783	5

TransIT routes are ten based, with the first digit designated to the part of the city/county the bus runs outbound to. The 10 Connector operates from outside of downtown. The 20 Connector runs south Frederick, while the 40 Connector serves the west end of the city. The 50 Connector serves the west-to-southwest areas along the Jefferson Street corridor and Patrick Street sharing much of the same route as the 40 Connector. The 60 Connector serves the north end. The 80 Connector serves the north end to the northwest side of the city including Ft. Detrick and the Yellow Springs area.

Routes that end in one (e.g. 51/61) run on an alternative route from their zero based counterpart. These routes began service in 2012.

One anomaly in the routing system is the Route 65 Walkersville Connector, which was designated as an in-fill route because all available route numbers in the ten-based system were already in use and the route began in 2011. In 2021, the Route 85 Shuttle was officially numbered as the number 85.

Currently there are no 30 or 70 Connector routes in service.

During peak hours, starting in 2014, the number 20, 40, 50, 51 and 60 buses run every half-hour. These buses are designated with a P after the route number denoting it is a peak hour, extra bus. Example, the number 50 bus may show as the 50P.

In the spring of 2024, the Route 40 connector was renamed the Golden Mile Connector to better reflect the service area. Then in the summer of 2025, the Route 50 Connector was renamed to Waverley via Prospect Boulevard and the Route 51 Connector was renamed to Waverley via 7th Street due to the change of the transfer hub from Boscov's.

In early 1994, the Red, Blue and White routes from the Frederick City Transit were discontinued. The Red Route was replaced by the #50, the Blue Route was replaced by the #40 and the White Route was replaced by the #60.

In August 2012, Route 30 was disconnected replaced by the new 50/51 routes. Route 70, Midtown Connector was replaced by the new 60/61 route.

From 1992 until 2025, Transit Services has used their simple green TransIT logo on buses and company brand.

• Maryland Transit Administration
• Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority

• TransIT services home page
• Frederick MARC Train Schedule
• "TransIT Services of Frederick County". Canadian Public Transit Discussion Board Wiki.

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