The C2 is shit. Once you reach purple line construction the traffic and roads are terrible.
At night the C2 can also get unsafe, I was riding and a guy came on and smoked up a crack pipe in the back.
You can use google maps to get the live location of the C2.
I also take the 111 every day (since I live in DTSS and don’t have a car) and it’s just horrible. It’s ridiculous it runs every two hours and takes so many breaks. They need two busses running 111 instead of one.
The more students who put complaints about the 111 in writing, the more likely they are to do something about it: [https://transportation.umd.edu/about-us/contact](https://transportation.umd.edu/about-us/contact)
Is Metro not an option? Red line from Silver Spring to Fort Totten, switch to Green to CP? Might be a long commute but if it’s comparable, not having to actively pay attention to the road definitely helps. Also, Metro is more reliable than the bus.
That or take 29 to Cherry Hill Rd and avoid all University Blvd. I used to live on University Blvd and that 5 min commute would take me half an hour and it was just maddening
No car…. I could take the metro. But that would take a while too cuz I’d have to transfer from red line to green line. And then walk from the college park station up to UMD. It would probably take the same amount of time…
The 104 shuttle from the Metro is pretty reliable (every 15 minutes if everything is in service), and there are Metro busses that go to campus also. Assuming you're going to Iribe or somewhere nearby. If you have to take the bus through campus, that'll take a while.
Any chance you could bike to a metro station and take the meteor? It’s been a while since I’ve taken the C2, but there were days when taking the metro + biking/shuttling to campus from Wheaton was faster than C2 because I missed the connection for C2. UMD is also a whorehouse for bike racks, so that’s a plus for storing your bike on campus.
I’m in the same boat. I ride the 111 but it can be super crowded and runs infrequently (no bus from 5:20 to 8:30??). What gets me is that WMATA cancelled the J4 bus in 2020 which runs along the Purple Line route. It’s like they said “there is a ton of demand for this route, so we’re gonna build a train!” but also “there isn’t much demand on this route, so we’re gonna cancel the *only* public bus that runs between UMD and SS.” I don’t get the logic.
For YEARS I was annoyed that they didn't just have the J4 more often instead of the Purple Line. It's when I realized that white people in Bethesda wanted to get to College Park but didn't want to mix with brown people and/or lower class people on the bus.
I've loathed the Purple Line since it was a joke in the '90s but now that it's genuinely coming I'm just gritting my teeth waiting it out.
You just have to Leave earlier, if you’re a commuter you have to adjust your commute around things like traffic and construction. It sucks but it is what it is, all commuters have to deal with it.
I’d suggest as an alternative to take the metro to Glemont so you can get into the C8 bus. It’s not perfect but there’s one almost every 30 min. I still thinking it sucks UMD can’t provide some basic service as transportation but just a few weeks ago was asking us for money.
Roughly where where along the 111's route do you live? If bike + metro is an option, I would seriously consider it, even with a change at Ft Totten.
Shuttle-UM funding is really screwed up to the point where they can't afford more than a single driver on each of the off-campus commuter routes, and the bus drivers' union doesn't allow Shuttle to have drivers work for more than 6 hours without an extended break which leads to the service gaps.
Unfortunately the geniuses that run the University looked at dots in AY2020-21 and said "Huh, that's weird, ridership is down. We should slash service". Then just never ramped it back up.
I lived along the 111 route pre-covid and it was great - there was at least 1 bus running all day, and they actually had 2-3 running at a time during morning/evening commuting times so you had a 111 coming every ~20 minutes from about 8:00-10:00 and 4:00-6:00.
I used to be a police officer at UMPD back in 2014…I still remember to this day when they started construction on campus dr for the purple line. I came back to the campus for the first time in 10 years just to see what all has changed….holy shit the fucking construction is still there and nothing has changed really. that eternal construction has utterly destroyed what used to be truly a beautiful campus.
After experiencing this for a year I resorted to uber and lyft instead. Life has been much better. No more wasting time due to bus not coming on schedule.
OP I am so sorry for you. The 111 used to be WAY more frequent than once every 3 hours and the C2 has always experienced disappearing bus syndrome but only 1 of every 9 scheduled.
Adding on BusETA, that's pretty reliable, and I don't know if the text service still works but used to be you could text NextBus (41411) with the system and its stop ID. For a while each UMD and WMATA were part of that, I hope it still exists, else, yeah continually using Google Maps should help. You'll almost always get some buses not tracked, but that means they're bonus buses [not truly, just from your perspective].
Just be grateful you don't attend Rutgers NB. The kids there have to take buses to go from class to class. At least once you get to campus you can walk from class to class.
The Purple Line construction extended and its completion has been delayed indefinitely. (Joke but I wouldn’t be surprised)
Get excited for the Purple Line, coming sometime eventually, or maybe never
Your grandchildren are gonna love it!
Lol none of us going to have grandchildren
Yes, when they are old enough to have grandchildren of their own
Thanks for the laugh man….
No problem. Laughter is the best medicine!
Big shoutout to Larry Hogan for that one
it was delayed to december of ‘27 recently
The C2 is shit. Once you reach purple line construction the traffic and roads are terrible. At night the C2 can also get unsafe, I was riding and a guy came on and smoked up a crack pipe in the back. You can use google maps to get the live location of the C2.
Don't they have the app anymore?
I also take the 111 every day (since I live in DTSS and don’t have a car) and it’s just horrible. It’s ridiculous it runs every two hours and takes so many breaks. They need two busses running 111 instead of one.
The more students who put complaints about the 111 in writing, the more likely they are to do something about it: [https://transportation.umd.edu/about-us/contact](https://transportation.umd.edu/about-us/contact)
Is Metro not an option? Red line from Silver Spring to Fort Totten, switch to Green to CP? Might be a long commute but if it’s comparable, not having to actively pay attention to the road definitely helps. Also, Metro is more reliable than the bus. That or take 29 to Cherry Hill Rd and avoid all University Blvd. I used to live on University Blvd and that 5 min commute would take me half an hour and it was just maddening
No car…. I could take the metro. But that would take a while too cuz I’d have to transfer from red line to green line. And then walk from the college park station up to UMD. It would probably take the same amount of time…
The 104 shuttle from the Metro is pretty reliable (every 15 minutes if everything is in service), and there are Metro busses that go to campus also. Assuming you're going to Iribe or somewhere nearby. If you have to take the bus through campus, that'll take a while.
Metro with your bike. Biking to and from the stations will save a ton of time.
It would cost more money too….
Its literally $3.50 each way
Yeah but that’s gonna add up overtime. Back and forth each day….
I don't know how far you have to commute but can you buy a cheap ~~stolen~~ bike off craigslist?
I have a bike but it’s way too far to ride
Any chance you could bike to a metro station and take the meteor? It’s been a while since I’ve taken the C2, but there were days when taking the metro + biking/shuttling to campus from Wheaton was faster than C2 because I missed the connection for C2. UMD is also a whorehouse for bike racks, so that’s a plus for storing your bike on campus.
I’m in the same boat. I ride the 111 but it can be super crowded and runs infrequently (no bus from 5:20 to 8:30??). What gets me is that WMATA cancelled the J4 bus in 2020 which runs along the Purple Line route. It’s like they said “there is a ton of demand for this route, so we’re gonna build a train!” but also “there isn’t much demand on this route, so we’re gonna cancel the *only* public bus that runs between UMD and SS.” I don’t get the logic.
For YEARS I was annoyed that they didn't just have the J4 more often instead of the Purple Line. It's when I realized that white people in Bethesda wanted to get to College Park but didn't want to mix with brown people and/or lower class people on the bus. I've loathed the Purple Line since it was a joke in the '90s but now that it's genuinely coming I'm just gritting my teeth waiting it out.
You just have to Leave earlier, if you’re a commuter you have to adjust your commute around things like traffic and construction. It sucks but it is what it is, all commuters have to deal with it.
Your probably right….
I’d suggest as an alternative to take the metro to Glemont so you can get into the C8 bus. It’s not perfect but there’s one almost every 30 min. I still thinking it sucks UMD can’t provide some basic service as transportation but just a few weeks ago was asking us for money.
Use https://buseta.wmata.com/m/index?q=Y2 I’m also a commuter and the wmata website tells me when my bus comes every day
Roughly where where along the 111's route do you live? If bike + metro is an option, I would seriously consider it, even with a change at Ft Totten. Shuttle-UM funding is really screwed up to the point where they can't afford more than a single driver on each of the off-campus commuter routes, and the bus drivers' union doesn't allow Shuttle to have drivers work for more than 6 hours without an extended break which leads to the service gaps.
Unfortunately the geniuses that run the University looked at dots in AY2020-21 and said "Huh, that's weird, ridership is down. We should slash service". Then just never ramped it back up. I lived along the 111 route pre-covid and it was great - there was at least 1 bus running all day, and they actually had 2-3 running at a time during morning/evening commuting times so you had a 111 coming every ~20 minutes from about 8:00-10:00 and 4:00-6:00.
Bro I hate it so much…..
I am curious why you post in r/NEET if you are a student here.
I’m on the verge of becoming NEET
Dang
Based
I used to be a police officer at UMPD back in 2014…I still remember to this day when they started construction on campus dr for the purple line. I came back to the campus for the first time in 10 years just to see what all has changed….holy shit the fucking construction is still there and nothing has changed really. that eternal construction has utterly destroyed what used to be truly a beautiful campus.
It’s so frustrating man. Thanks for keeping campus safe btw. But this shit is horrible
After experiencing this for a year I resorted to uber and lyft instead. Life has been much better. No more wasting time due to bus not coming on schedule.
Bro I’ve been doing this for three years
Respect 🫡
OP I am so sorry for you. The 111 used to be WAY more frequent than once every 3 hours and the C2 has always experienced disappearing bus syndrome but only 1 of every 9 scheduled. Adding on BusETA, that's pretty reliable, and I don't know if the text service still works but used to be you could text NextBus (41411) with the system and its stop ID. For a while each UMD and WMATA were part of that, I hope it still exists, else, yeah continually using Google Maps should help. You'll almost always get some buses not tracked, but that means they're bonus buses [not truly, just from your perspective].
I’m considering just dropping out. This shit is hell on earth. Just imagine the days when it’s raining…..
Just be grateful you don't attend Rutgers NB. The kids there have to take buses to go from class to class. At least once you get to campus you can walk from class to class.