Central Avenue Line (Maryland)

Routes C21, C22, C26, C27 and C29 operate in central Prince George's County, Maryland connecting riders between Kettering, Six Flags America, and Pointer Ridge to the Washington Metro. Route C21 operates during the weekday peak hours in the peak direction, routes C22 and C26 operate weekdays only, route C27 only operates between Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day weekend yearly, and route C29 operates during the weekends only. Route C29 is a combination of routes C22 and C26, and is extended to Bowie State University on Saturdays only while operating up to Pointer Ridge on Sundays.

Routes C21, C22, C27, and C29 begin at Addison Road station and follow Central Avenue before turning onto Brightseat Road, Arena Drive, Lottsford Road, Apollo Drive, and Largo Center Drive serving Largo Town Center station, where it meets with route C26. The line then runs along Largo Drive South before turning onto Harry S Truman Drive. Routes C21, C22, and C29 turn along Prince Place with route C21 turning left on Campus Way South and route C22 turning right. Route C21 then turns right onto Largo Road, then left onto Kettering Drive. Routes C22 and C29 turn back onto Harry S Truman Drive before turning onto Mount Lubentia Way, then Largo Road before following the C21 onto Kettering Drive.

Routes C26 and C27 do not turn onto Prince Place and instead turn directly onto Campus Way South. Route C27 then turns back onto Central Avenue while route C26 continues along Campus Way North until turning onto Lake Arbor Way, then onto Kettering Drive. All five routes then meet up along the intersection of Central Avenue and Kettering Drive operating parallel to each other. Routes C26 and C29 then turn onto Watkins Park Drive and operate a loop along Cambleton Drive, Whiteholm Drive, and Keverton Drive before resuming their route along Watkins Park Drive. Route C26 terminates here, while route C29 continues to Pointer Ridge.

Routes C21, C22, C27, and C29 continue along Central Avenue passing Six Flags America; off-peak C22, C27, and Sunday C29 trips terminate at Pointer Ridge along Central Avenue and Hall Road before running along Hall Road and Devonwood Drive, going back to Addison Road station. Route C21 and rush hour C22 trips continue along Central Avenue before turning onto Crain Highway and serving Collington Center via Prince George's Boulevard, Commerce Drive, and Trade Zone Avenue. The two routes then operate vice versa back to Addison Road.

Saturday C29 trips run along Pointer Ridge Drive, Pittsfield Lane, Mitchellville Road, Peach Walker Drive, Mount Oak Drive, Nottinghill Drive, and Northview Drive, then turn and loop along Health Center Drive serving Bowie Health Center. The route then continues along Collington Road and Laurel Bowie Road before reaching Bowie State University. The route then operates vice versa back to Addison Road station.

Routes C21, C22, C26, C27, and C29 currently operate out of Landover division.

Service in Central Prince George's County, Maryland was originally operated by various Metrobus lines until the 1990s. These lines connected Capitol Heights, Maryland to Downtown DC and Central Prince Georges County. But the routes were slowly eliminated and replaced by Metrorail after 1978.[1]

Eventually, three lines were created to operate into Central Prince Georges County. The Pointer Ridge–Addison Road Line (C21, C22, C29), Kingsford–Addison Road Line (C21, C22, C29), Kingsford–Addison Road Line (C23, C24, C25, and C26), and Pointer Ridge Line (C28). These lines would connect Addison Road station (C21, C22, C23, C24, C25, C26, C29) and New Carrollton station (C28) to East Kettering, Pointer Ridge (C21, C22, C29), Collington Center (C21, C22), and Bowie Town Center (C29).[2] Route C29 would operate on the C28 routing on Saturday between Bowie Town Center and Pointer Ridge plus operate on a combination of the C22 and C26 routing.

Eventually prior to 1998, both the Central Avenue Line and Kingsford–Addison Road Line would merge into a single route. Routes C25 and C26 joined the C21, C22, and C29 while routes C23 and C24 were eliminated. The C25 and C26 routing remained the same during the merger of the routes. The line was renamed into the Central Avenue Line as a result. There was no Sunday service on any of the routes.