Proposed UMD Campus Center stop. Image from Maryland MTA via the Washington Post.

Yesterday was Car-Free Day. For many residents of Montgomery County, it will be a lot easier to make important trips without a car when the Purple Line is built.

University of Maryland student Sareana Kimia live-tweeted her two-bus commute from Rockville to the College Park campus and compared it to what her commute would be like with the planned light rail line from Bethesda to New Carrollton.

That night, she and Montgomery County Councilmember George Leventhal co-hosted a Twitter chat about the Purple Line with the Action Committee for Transit and Montgomery County Young Democrats. Her commute exemplified many of the challenges that transit riders face.

Like so many commuters, she began her trip desperately hoping to catch her bus — and in need of accurate, live time transit information.

Her bus was 10 minutes late. In contrast, the Purple Line will run every 6 minutes in rush hour.

Sareana takes the RideOn 5 to Silver Spring to pick up the UMD Shuttle. Delegate Al Carr suggested what might be a faster route, and Sareana explained the economics behind her transit choices:

When Sareana arrived in downtown Silver Spring, she related a standard bus riding nightmare:

Although she made her UMD Shuttle, Sareana was still 12 minutes late for her 9 am class, despite having begun her commute 1.5 hours earlier. She would have arrived 39 minutes earlier via the Purple Line — with a smoother ride.

Her afternoon commute once again illustrated the importance of frequency in making transit convenient.

Her afternoon commute also demonstrated how horrible traffic can be in this area, even when the weather is perfect:

At 6 pm, she joined Councilmember George Leventhal on Twitter to discuss the Purple Line. Leventhal shared how the Purple Line would improve his commute from Takoma Park to Rockville.

Marc Korman quizzed Leventhal on the Public Private Partnership process that will build the Purple Line.

Korman also asked about state and county cooperation.

Leventhal discussed a “Purple Line Compact” being developed by the Purple Line Corrider Coalition, that would “ensure residents know what to expect from” the Purple Line. It is based on compacts drawn up in Denver, Minneapolis and Baltimore, among others, before light rail lines are built.

The goal is to release the Purple Line Compact by the end of the year.

The Silver Spring Transit Center Twitter account made a poignant contribution during the chat:

Leventhal noted that the Montgomery County Council would get an update on the Purple Line next Tuesday, September 30. He ended the chat on an upbeat note: