GoPGC

GoPGC

A GoPGC bus at Mount Rainier Terminal
Founded	January 1990 (1990-01)
Service area	Prince George's County, Maryland, US
Service type	Bus service
Routes	24
Fleet	Gillig, ENC, Proterra
Daily ridership	12,700 (2026)
Annual ridership	2,441,500
Fuel type	Diesel
Operator	RATP Dev (WMATC 3226)
Website	GoPGC

GoPGC (stylized as GO PGC) is a bus transportation system serving Prince George's County, Maryland. There are 24 bus routes, with most operating between Washington Metro stations in the county, with two routes running to Upper Marlboro. In 2025, the system had a ridership of 2,441,500 or about 15,100 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2026.

The service was originally known as "The Bus" until 2025, when rebranding saw the name shortened to "Prince George's County Transit", and the rebranded again in 2026 to GoPGC.

History

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. 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.

Gillig LF Diesel in Route US 1 Ride Wrap on The Bus Route 17: Mount Rainier

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.

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.

A new version of The Bus Route 21X: Prince George's Community College

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. At the same time, TheBus changed its name to Prince George's County Transit.

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. 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.

On August 24, 2026, Prince George's County Transit TheBus announced they will rebrand to GoPGC on September 2, 2026 after a 36-year run being branded and known as TheBus since its initial launch in January 1990.

Authority

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 GoPGC is operated by RATP Dev, under a contract with Prince George's County, it has operating authorization as WMATC 3226.

Routes

All routes operate on Weekdays with select routes operating on Saturdays and Sundays. 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. GoPGC 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.

Route	Name	Terminals		Major streets	Service Notes	History
P19	Greenbelt - Laurel	Greenbelt station	Laurel Town Center	Baltimore Avenue Konterra Drive Contee Road Laurel-Bowie Road	Weekday peak hours service only	Began service on June 3, 2024 Existing routing of the former Route 61.
P22	Greenbelt - Cheverly	Greenbelt station	Cheverly station	Good Luck Road Hanover Parkway Greenbelt Road Cherrywood Lane Annapolis Road	Weekday trips from Greenbelt alternate ending between New Carrollton and Cheverly. Weekend service operates between Greenbelt and New Carrollton only.	Combination of a modified Route 16 routing and WMATA Metrobus Route F13 between Cheverly and New Carrollton. Sunday service began on June 14, 2026.
P23	New Carrollton - Fairwood	New Carrollton station	Bowie Medical Center	Whitfield Chapel Road Annapolis Road	Operates Monday-Friday Only.	Combination of former WMATA Metrobus Routes B24 and F13.
P2X	Greenbelt - New Carrollton Express	Greenbelt station	New Carrollton station	Greenbelt Road Cipriano Road Annapolis Road	Weekday peak hours service only	Existing routing of the former Route 15X.
P37	College Park - Adelphi	College Park station	Adelphi	Adelphi Road Campus Drive	Weekday peak hours service only.	Replaced former WMATA Metrobus Route C8 portion between College Park and Adelphi.
P43	Takoma Langley - Addison Road	Takoma Langley Crossroads Transit Center	Addison Road station	University Boulevard East-West Highway Queens Chapel Road Annapolis Road Columbia Park Road Martin Luther King Jr. Highway		Existing routing of the former Route 18. Sunday service began on June 14, 2026.
P44	New Carrollton - Downtown Largo	New Carrollton station	Downtown Largo station	Pennsy Drive Landover Road Kent Village Drive Sheriff Road Brightseat Road	Operates Monday-Friday Only	Combination of the former Route 27 between Downtown Largo and Palmer Park, and a modified routing of the former WMATA Metrobus Route F12 between Kent Village and New Carrollton.
P52	New Carrollton - Upper Marlboro	New Carrollton station	Upper Marlboro Courthouse	Garden City Drive Ardwick-Ardmore Road Lottsford Road Largo Road	Operates Monday-Saturday Only	Existing routing of the former Route 21.
P54	Cheverly - Addison Road	Cheverly station	Addison Road station	Columbia Park Road Cabin Branch Drive Sheriff Road Nalley Road Central Avenue	Operates Monday-Saturday Only.	Existing routing of the former Route 23 with service along Walker Mill Drive being replaced by Route P56.
P56	Addison Road - Downtown Largo	Addison Road station	Downtown Largo station	Morgan Boulevard Hampton Park Boulevard Ritchie-Marlboro Road Harry S. Truman Drive Campus Way South Largo Road	Saturday trips operate between Downtown Largo and Morgan Boulevard only. Operates Monday-Saturday Only.	Existing routing of the former Route 26 with an extension to Addison Road via Central Avenue and Walker Mill Drive.
P57	Downtown Largo - Woodmore/Jericho	Downtown Largo station	Woodmore Town Centre	Largo Drive West Lottsford Road Medical Center Drive McCormick Drive Campus Way North	Operates Monday-Friday Only.	Existing routing of the former Route 28.
P5X	New Carrollton - PGCC Express	New Carrollton station	Prince George's Community College	Garden City Drive Ardwick-Ardmore Road Landover Road Campus Way	Weekday peak hours service only	Existing routing of the former Route 21X.
P64	Suitland - Downtown Largo	Downtown Largo station	Suitland station	Brightseat Road Hampton Park Boulevard Ritchie Road Silver Hill Road		Modified Routing of the former Route 24 between Forestville and Central Avenue (Eastern Half), with the terminus moved to Downtown Largo, and combined with former WMATA Metrobus Route K12 between Penn Mar Shopping Center and Suitland station. Route 24 now serves Central Avenue, Hampton Park Boulevard, and Edgeworth Drive, swapping the original routing with Route 26. Sunday service began on June 14, 2026.
P65	Capitol Heights - Forestville	Capitol Heights station	Penn Mar Shopping Center	Rollins Avenue Walker Mill Road Forestville Road	Operates Monday-Saturday Only	Existing Routing of the former Route 24 between Forestville and Capitol Heights station (Western Half).
P71	New Carrollton - Bowie	New Carrollton station	Bowie State University	John Hanson Highway Laurel-Bowie Road	Operates Monday-Friday Only	Modified Routing of the former WMATA Metrobus Routes B21, B22, and B24.
P76	Addison Road - Upper Marlboro	Addison Road station	Upper Marlboro Courthouse	Addison Road Marlboro Pike Old Marlboro Pike Main Street	Every other weekday trip and all Saturday trips bypass Melwood Training Center. Operates Monday-Saturday Only.	Existing routing of the former Route 20.
P77	Villages of Marlborough - Marlboro Meadows	Village Drive West	Correctional Center	Village Drive West Marlboro Pike Old Marlboro Pike	Operates Monday-Friday Only	Existing routing of the former Route 53.
P78	Equestrian Center/Courthouse	Equestrian Center		Water Street	Operates Monday-Friday Only	Existing routing of the former Route 51X.
P83	Naylor Road - Suitland	Naylor Road station	Capital Crossing Apartments	Suitland Road Silver Hill Road Iverson Street 23rd Parkway	Operates Monday-Friday Only	Existing routing of the former Route 34 and combined with former WMATA Metrobus Route C12 between The Shops at Iverson and Naylor Road station.
P84	Branch Avenue - Brandywine	Brandywine Crossing	Branch Avenue station	Brandywine Road Crain Highway	Operates Monday-Saturday Only	Existing routing of the former Route 36 with an extension to Branch Avenue station.
P85	Branch Avenue - Southern Maryland Hospital Center	Branch Avenue station	Southern Maryland Hospital	Auth Road Allentown Road Temple Hill Road Piscataway Road	Operates Monday-Saturday Only	Modified routing of the former Route 30.
P86	Naylor Road - Clinton	Naylor Road station	Clinton Park & Ride	28th Parkway Temple Hill Road Brinkley Road Coventry Way Woodyard Road		Combination routing of the former Route 32 and former WMATA Metrobus Route H12. Sunday service began on June 14, 2026.
P88	Southern Avenue - Branch Avenue	Southern Avenue station	Branch Avenue station	Southern Avenue Owens Road Brinkley Road Allentown Road Auth Road		Existing routing of the former Route 33. Sunday service began on June 14, 2026.
P95	Southern Avenue - Friendly	Southern Avenue station	Fort Washington Park & Ride Lot Friendly (Allentown & Old Fort Roads) Southern Regional Technology and Recreation Complex	Bock Road Southern Avenue	Service to Fort Washington operates weekday peak hours only (AM to Southern Avenue, PM to Fort Washington) Every other weekday peak hour trip and weekday midday trip operates between Southern Avenue and Friendly only. Saturday service only operates between Southern Avenue and Southern Regional Technology and Recreation Complex Operates Monday-Saturday Only	Modified routing of the former Route 35 combined with WMATA Metrobus Route W14. Via MGM National Harbor

GoPGC Link

In addition to fixed-route buses, TheBus system also includes microtransit service. Rides cost $2 and must be booked and paid with the TransLoc app.

Fare

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

Fleet

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

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 63093 is ex-MTA Maryland 09044 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)		Allison B300R6
	Gillig BRT		29 ft (8.839 m)	63017–63031, 63037–63045 (23 buses)
	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 & 63056 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 (12 buses)	Cummins BES	Direct-Drive	Delivered in a new Navy, White and Orange Livery as part of the bus network redesign.
	Gillig Low Floor Plus	2026	35 ft (10.67 m)	66400-66403? (4 buses)	Cummins L9 EPA 2024	Allison B400R6	Delivered in a new Navy, White, Orange and Yellow Livery as part of GoPGC redesign 66400, 66402-66403 are delivered Only 66401 is in service Total amount of units orderded unknown

On order

Manufacturer	Model	Length	Year built	Fleet Numbers (quantity)	Fuel	Notes
N/A	N/A	N/A		N/A	N/A	Ex-WMATA buses? TDB, (7/26)

Retired Fleet

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

External links

• Official website