Photo by Skip Lawrence For many commuters, hopping a shuttle or train beats driving -- especially when icy side streets force local traffic onto roads used by those traveling from outside Frederick County. Here, commuters get off the MARC Rail commuter train at the Frederick Rail Station on South East Street on Tuesday.

Take Friday, for example. By 8:15 a.m., eastbound traffic on U.S. 40 was stop-and-go from Braddock Heights to Frederick .

Commuters, frustrated with gridlock, say they would prefer mass transportation, but shuttle and rail services do not run often and early enough from Frederick .

They are hoping with Gov. Martin O'Malley's new administration could change that .

While state leaders say that might happen, some local delegates are not so sure.

Maryland Sen. Robert Garagiola, D-Montgomery County, is working on legislation that would extend Metro's red line from Shady Grove to Frederick County.

"The draft legislation is going through channels now," he said Friday. "Ideally, once it gets through Clarksburg, it does a loop through Point of Rocks ."

Garagiola thinks the Metro line could be expanded in the next five to 10 years, but he noted the project, which would cost millions, is grossly underfunded. Legislators are looking at raising the gas tax 5 cents to make up the shortfall.

"The last time the gas tax was raised was 20 years ago," he said.

That tax will not pass this year if O'Malley has anything to do with it. He recently announced he would not support new taxes.

O'Malley's no-new-tax pledge discouraged local delegates from introducing transportation proposals, said Delegate Rick Weldon, a Republican from Brunswick .

Weldon advocates spending money on road improvements and commuter mass transit systems, including shuttles that take passengers from train stations to commuter parking lots throughout Frederick County.

At the Point of Rocks MARC train station Tuesday, commuters Suzanne Koppanen and Frank Cleveland said they wanted two things: more stops and more buses.

The shuttle they were on left Point of Rocks at 2:55 p.m., but the next one would not leave until 4:40 p.m., just after the second train of the afternoon pulls into the station.

The gap between stops is too great, they said, echoing commuters at the Frederick MARC train station. Kenneth Henson hopped aboard the first commuter MARC train at 5:10 a.m. and could hardly put in an eight-hour day before leaving.

His goal was to beat traffic at the end of the day, he said, noting he lives in Waynesboro, Pa. and drives there after the train ride.

"Earlier trains in the morning would be better," he said. "I don't mind sleeping on the train."

MARC has no plans to increase service to Frederick , said spokeswoman Cheron Wicker.