TheBus (Prince George's County)

The idea for Prince George's County establishing its own transit system was initially brought up in 1986, to provide better transportation access to the Upper Marlboro Courthouse and other important government offices, that were isolated from the WMATA Metrorail and Metrobus system. At the time, WMATA charged counties the costs of operating some routes, because regional routes were not profitable due to lower ridership. Prince George's County decided it would be cheaper for the county to operate their own transit system instead.^{[citation needed]} Prince George's County learned to watch Montgomery County, which successfully developed its own Ride On transit system in March 1975 in response to WMATA asking the county to pay for routes operating in Montgomery County. Prince George's County's TheBus system was created in January 1990.^{[citation needed]}

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 station (WMATA's Orange Line's northern terminus in Prince George's County) and the Equestrian Center, also serving the Upper Marlboro Courthouse. After observing the success of these two routes, Prince George's County decided to add four new routes in April 1996 to serve residential areas being built around WMATA's northern Green Line stations in Prince George's County, which opened in December 1993. These new routes served areas somewhat already served by WMATA, providing additional transportation service to residents and business there. Even more routes were added as several Metro Green Line stations opened in January 2001 and in December 2004 when Morgan Boulevard and the Largo Town Center stations on the Blue Line opened.^{[citation needed]}

On November 7, 2020, TheBus launched Saturday service on several routes, marking the first time that service was not restricted to weekdays in the agency's then-30-year history. All Saturday routes would operate every 30–45 minutes between 6:00 AM and 6:00 PM.^[2][3]

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. All TheBus routes were renamed into P routes.^[4] At the same time, TheBus changed its name to Prince George's County Transit.^{[citation needed]}

In May 2026, Prince George's County Transit announced they would launch new Sunday service beginning on June 14, 2026, on five different bus routes.^[5] They had long been criticized for being the only bus operator serving a county fully or partially within the Beltway to have no Sunday service, and they had no weekend service at all before Saturday service launched in 2020.^[6]

While a bus service 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, such authorization is required for a service operated by a non-government agency. Because TheBus is operated by RATP Dev,^[7] under a contract with Prince George's County, it has operating authorization as WMATC 3226.

All routes operate on Weekdays with select routes operating on Saturdays. Service usually ends around 6:30 pm on most routes with some routes ending at 8:00 pm. Sunday service on select routes began on June 14, 2026.^[5] TheBus does not operate on New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.

All routes listed below began service on June 30, 2025.

The use of the buses has been free since June 30, 2025.^[10] The fare was $1.25, but seniors, the disabled, and students (between 2:00PM and 7:00PM) riding free.^[11][12] On October 13, 2008, TheBus began accepting payment using SmarTrip regional farecards.^[13]

Vehicles used in the fleet are manufactured by Proterra (now Phoenix Motorcars), Gillig Corporation, Eldorado National (now ENC), Ford and New Flyer.

More information Photo, Builder and model name ...

Photo	Builder and model name	Model year	Length	Numbers (Total)	Engines	Transmission	Notes
	New Flyer DE40LFA	2009-2010	40 ft (12.19 m)	63080, 63082-63087, 63090-63091 (9 buses)	Cummins ISL EPA 2007	Allison EP40	Ex-WMATA units, acquired in 2024-2025 63089 Was retired from service.
	New Flyer DE41LFR	2009	40 ft (12.19 m)	63093-63097 (5 buses)	Cummins ISL EPA 2007	Allison EP40	Ex-MTA Maryland units, acquired in 2024-2025 Only 63093, 63095, 63096 are active 63095 is ex-MTA Maryland 09050
	Gillig Low Floor	2010–2012	35 ft (10.67 m)	63188–63217, 62616, 62623–62628, 62633–62652 (68 buses)	Cummins ISL9 EPA 2010	Voith DIWA D864.5	Several units retired
		2011–2012	29 ft (8.839 m)	62617–62622, 62629–62632 (10 buses)
	Ford E4-50	2019	22.5 ft (6.86 m)	62812-62813 (2 buses)	6.8L V10	6-speed automatic
	ElDorado National Axess BRT	2019	35 ft (10.67 m)	63011–63016 (6 buses)	Cummins L9 EPA 2017	Allison B400R6
	ElDorado National E-Z Rider II BRT	2020		63032–63036 (5 buses)	Cummins B6.7 EPA 2019	Allison B300R6
	Gillig BRT		29 ft (8.839 m)	63017–63031, 63037–63045 (23 buses)	Cummins L9 EPA 2017
	Proterra Catalyst	2021	35 ft (10.67 m)	63052–63055 (4 buses)	UQM HD220	Eaton EEV-7202 2-speed auto	First Electric buses ordered for TheBus All Units Withdrawn from service due to Proterra's Bankruptcy
	Proterra ZX5	2022		63056–63063 (8 buses)			Only 63062-63063 remain in service as a result of Proterra's Bankruptcy
	ElDorado National E-Z Rider II BRT		30 ft (9.144 m)	63064–63069 (6 buses)	Cummins B6.7 EPA 2021	Allison B300R6
	Ford F-550 Allstar XL	2022	30-32 ft (8.53 to 9.75 m)	63070-63073 (4 buses)	7.3L V8	10-speed automatic
	Gillig Low Floor Plus	2025	35 ft (10.67 m)	63001-63010, 63046-63047 (12 buses)	Cummins L9 EPA 2024	Allison B400R6	Delivered in a new Navy, White and Orange Livery as part of the bus network redesign.
	Gillig Low Floor Plus EV	2025/2026	35 ft (10.67 m)	63048-63051, 63075-63076-63077-79 63088, 63098-99 66401-3?(15 buses)	Cummins BES	Direct-Drive	Delivered in a new Navy, White and Orange Livery as part of the bus network redesign. On-going order/deliveries

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Retired Fleet

More information Year, Builder and model name ...

Year	Builder and model name	Numbers (preserved numbers)	Year Retired	Picture	Notes
	Thomas Dennis SLF	63128–63130
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
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

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