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Montgomery County is seeking proposals for a Bus Rapid Transit system that its chief proponent says would overhaul the current Ride On bus system and cut down on traffic and carbon dioxide emissions.

Councilman Marc Elrich (D-At large) of Takoma Park said that, if approved, the $480 million project could be completed by 2014.

Elrich says he began discussing his idea about two years ago and now has enough support to go forward with a feasibility study.

A request went out Friday to select consulting firms that already have contracts with the Montgomery County Department of Transportation or the Maryland Transit Administration, said Al Roshdieh, deputy director of Montgomery County Department of Transportation. They will present bids on a feasibility study to the county by Nov. 16, and the county expects to select a firm by the end of December, he said.

The Bus Rapid Transit System would include 120 lane miles on major north-south and east-west roads.

To cut carbon dioxide emissions to 2002 levels, officials would need to reduce the number of vehicles on county roads by 8.3 percent, according to data presented by Elrich.

He says it would be possible to shift those drivers into transit, if they had an option that was reliable, cost-effective and fast. That is where his bus rapid transit system comes in.

Elrich has generated enough support for it in the past two years that County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) proposed $500,000 for the feasibility study in the fiscal 2010 budget, said County Council President Philip M. Andrews (D-Dist. 3) of Gaithersburg.

The County Council approved that expense.

Andrews called Elrich's proposal "visionary" and said it is a cost-effective way to reduce traffic congestion.

Former Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan (D) said he sees a lot of potential in Elrich's bus transit ideas  and added he told Elrich he would talk with some people in the county who also might be interested.

"I'm a fan of big ideas, and it's about the only big idea I've seen coming out of county government in the last three years," Duncan said.

The council has not discussed the issue in committee or as a full council, and Elrich said the discussions are unlikely before the feasibility study is completed — perhaps in a year.

Councilwoman Nancy Floreen (D-At Large) of Garrett Park said the Bus Rapid Transit system is something that "should be studied," but said Elrich's plan might overlap some existing plans for BRT in the county — including along the Intercounty Connector (ICC).

Floreen, who chairs the council's transportation committee, questioned whether the county has the "political will and the resources" to make Elrich's proposal happen.

The proposed Bus Rapid Transit system would operate in medians of existing roads, including Rockville Pike and Georgia Avenue.

The buses would operate more like light-rail trains than typical buses.

Elrich, who typically is at odds with developers, says he has support from the business and development communities for his proposal to cut down on the number of cars on county roads.

The Bus Rapid Transit system would be built in existing medians and, for the most part, would not mean the elimination of lanes of traffic. Buses would run in one direction in the morning and the other in the afternoon.

Elrich is proposing that the county's current Ride On buses become feeders to the new rapid transit buses, which would resemble "rail-like vehicles."

Ridership and the cost to ride the new buses were still unknown, he said.

Unlike current county bus stops, Elrich said the rapid transit bus stops would look more like Metro stations.

The buses also would operate more like Metro. There would be no bus schedule, and riders would come to expect a new bus every six minutes or so.

The buses likely would operate 18 hours per day, he said.