Neighbors --
 
This next Tuesday, February 9 at 7:30 p.m., please join us virtually via Zoom for a Public Forum on Transit. This forum is an opportunity for residents to learn about options for Town bus services which are being discussed by the Town's Transit Task Force, and to discuss them before the Task Force finalizes and presents its report to the Town Council on March 15. Click here to view transit options being discussed.
 
To join the public forum, click the Zoom link below:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85167579530?pwd=d1BncTFrcDk5K28wL0VHeEhOSTZ3QT09
 
To join via phone, dial: (301) 715-8592 and enter Meeting ID: 851 6757 9530 and Passcode: 633412
 
 For more information, contact Town Clerk Andrea Marcavitch via email at amarcavitch@upmd.org or call 301-927-4262.
 
Background
The Town bus service began in 2002 through a federally funded county grant program which enabled the purchase of a small bus with wheel chair lift to serve senior citizens and individuals who for medical or physical reasons required transportation assistance to shop for food or get to medical or other vital appointments. Very quickly the Town experimented with adding morning and afternoon shuttle service for residents commuting via the Prince George's Plaza Metro station. The experiment was successful enough that, with residents urging that the commuter shuttle made public transit a much more viable alternative to commuting by automobile, it became an established service of the Town in 2003. Both commuter and paratransit services were popular and growing in use prior to the pandemic. The shuttle to and from Metro transported 50-55 residents on 80 to 100 one-way trips on most weekdays. The paratransit service, dubbed the "senior bus" by many of the older residents who rely on it, transported another 25-30 most months.
 
With the Town buses out of service since March 2020 due to the coronavirus, Town Council in July 2020 formed a Transit Task Force to assess bus operations and make recommendations to the Council regarding the future of transit.
  
Please share this with neighbors who may not be on the Mayor’s email list. University Park residents wishing to be added to this list or removed from it can subscribe or unsubscribe via the Notify Me feature on the Town website at www.upmd.org. You may email me directly at mayorcarey@upmd.org.

With best regards,

--Len Carey--

Lenford C. Carey
Mayor, Town of University Park
(240) 338-2826 – Cellular is best, as I am teleworking
(301) 927-4262, Extension 100 -- office