Annapolis-D.C. bus route gets 30-day extension

The bus route running from Annapolis to the Washington area will be spared for another month, after Mayor Ellen O. Moyer announced a partnership with Dillon's Bus Service to keep the line going for 30 more days.

The Maryland Transit Administration announced last month that it would cut service on rail and bus lines around the area, including the 921 line, or the "capital-to-capital" route. Service on the line, from Annapolis to the New Carrollton Metro station, was scheduled to stop tomorrow.

The mayor, who has staunchly opposed the cut, will launch a "robust marketing campaign" in the meantime to increase riders and find other ways to pay for the route.

"The environmental impact of adding more cars to the road kind of thwarts everything we're doing to increase energy efficiency," Moyer said in an interview. In a statement, Moyer noted that the 921 line saves almost 1.3 million vehicle miles a year.

The route served more than 47,000 riders in 2008 - an average 10 round trips a day, Dillon's Bus Service president Ron Dillon Sr. said in the statement.

"This route is particularly important to riders, as it provides the only direct link between Annapolis and Washington, D.C.'s Metro system," he said.