Montgomery County lacks the ridership to justify building a proposed $1.8 billion, 160-mile rapid bus system, according to a study requested by the county’s Department of Transportation.

A panel commissioned by County Executive Ike Leggett recommended a “world class” ?bus rapid transit, or BRT, system that would run in dedicated lanes and resemble light rail. The system, which the panel recommended paying for with property tax increases of up to 15 percent, has been enthusiastically endorsed by elected officials like Council President Roger Berliner, D-Bethesda, and Councilman Marc Elrich, D-at large.