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The Town of Chevy Chase paid $250,000 during the past fiscal year to an engineer who gave a presentation last week arguing that a Purple Line bus route on Jones Bridge Road should be explored further by the state.

Sam Schwartz, a New York-based traffic consultant, conducted a public forum last week to share information he's collected while compiling a report commissioned by the town. Schwartz said there are many technical problems with the Purple Line, a proposed new Metrorail line between Bethesda and New Carrollton along the route of the Capital Crescent trail which is located near the community.

The town has Schwartz on retainer. The report on Jones Bridge Road buses was originally released in April and cost $150,000 to generate, according to Town Manager Todd Hoffman. He said the majority of the report's cost was paid for out of the last fiscal year's budget.

The town has Schwartz on retainer. The report on Jones Bridge Road buses was originally released in April and cost $125,000 to generate, according to Town Manager Todd Hoffman. He said the majority of the report's cost was paid for out of the last fiscal year's budget.

Hoffman said since the report was updated several times since it was released, the cost of Schwartz's report could continue to grow.

The town has budgeted $125,000 in payments to Schwartz for the current fiscal year, he said.

During his presentation, Schwartz said the Maryland Transit Administration had ignored the potential benefits of a Purple Line route not located along the trail, and occasionally argued with skeptical residents in the audience.

According to Schwartz, a bus rapid transit (BRT) system on Jones Bridge Road could be similar to a bus system in Los Angeles. Schwartz said BRT on Jones Bridge Road would interact with traffic lights to optimize bus speed along routes and run cleanly and safely at 13 to 24 mph, including time spent at bus stops. Such a bus route would require relatively few infrastructure improvements, he said.

He argued that MTA officials consistently refused to answer key questions about bus and rail options, and that eventually two transit systems would be needed even with the addition of light rail along the Capital Crescent Trail.

"We have a problem with the process," he said.

Some in the audience questioned Schwartz's analysis.

"Connecticut Avenue is the problem. You're not dealing with that," said Allen Hutter, a Chevy Chase Valley resident.

Hutter complained that the Town of Chevy Chase had commissioned Schwartz's report without being "neighborly enough" to contact people to the north living along Jones Bridge Road.

One audience member asked Schwartz how much he was being paid by the Town of Chevy Chase to produce his analysis that could move the Purple Line farther away from the town. Schwartz did not reply.

Jane Papish, a resident of Brierly Road off Jones Bridge Road, argued that one plan to reduce traffic in the area would be to expand the existing J1 Metro bus service from Bethesda to Silver Spring.

"Fund the J1 buses 23 hours a day," she said.