ROCKVILLE, Md. (WUSA9) -- Could you put your car in park and get by for a week?
That’s the challenge in one of the wealthiest counties in the country. In Montgomery County, there’s an average of two cars for every household—and it has the congestion to prove it.
“The car has not moved all week and will not all week,” said Montgomery County Councilman Andrew Friedson, who’s among the 10 local lawmakers who have traded the roads for rails and buses all week long—no driving.
Friedson showed WUSA9 his latest commute from Bethesda to council chambers in Rockville. Usually a 20 minute drive took 51 minutes on two different buses.
“If you live along that corridor, it’s terrific but if you live outside that corridor which I also represent, it’s not nearly as great.”
Sponsored by the organization Action Committee for Transit, this is called the transit challenge. But Friedson says it highlights challenges those without cars face every day.
“I mostly use Metro and I am one of those people who gets to use it as a luxury not as a necessity,” said Friedson.
On Twitter, others are chiming in with packed buses, blocked crosswalks and unsafe bike lanes. Friedson says it’s brought local lawmakers closer together—in hopes of making the county closer, too.
“You can’t have a place unless you can get to it and that’s what public transportation is all about,” said Friedson.