Ride On (bus)

Ride On

A Gillig diesel-electric hybrid bus at Glenmont station, in the most recent paint scheme
Parent	Montgomery County
Founded	March 31, 1975 (1975-03-31)
Headquarters	101 Monroe Street, 5th Floor, Rockville, Maryland, U.S.
Service type	Bus service, paratransit
Routes	81
Fleet	350
Daily ridership	73,300 (Q1 2017)
Annual ridership	23,425,700 (2016)
Fuel type	CNG, diesel, diesel-electric hybrid
Website	http://www.MontgomeryCountyMD.gov/

Ride On is the primary public transportation system in Montgomery County, Maryland. Ride On serves Montgomery County as well as the community of Langley Park in Prince George's County. Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C.

Ride On operates 81 routes, including operating two Metrobus routes on weekends.

History

The former Ride On logo, used as the primary logo from the late 1990s until mid-2009. It is still used on some older buses.

1970s

Ride On began service on March 31, 1975.

1980s

Starting in 1983, single front door TMC City Cruisers entered service. These buses were part of a joint order with Frederick City Transit, and shared the same paint livery. In 1988, OBI Orion I 30' foot buses were introduced. In 1989, 57 30-foot Gillig Phantom buses, the first buses in the second-generation blue-and-white scheme, went into service. These buses retired in 2014 due to the arrival of the Gillig Advantage CNG

1990s

In the spring of 1996, Ride On's first CNG buses, the 1996 35-foot Orion V buses, went into service. These buses have since retired.

2000s

In September 2001, Ride On buses were used to transport Montgomery County firemen to the Pentagon in Virginia to assist in search and rescue operations after the September 11 attacks.

In early 2004, Ride On's first low-floor buses, the 2003–04 35-foot Orion VII CNG buses (5900–5932), went into service. They replaced all of the remaining 1989 30-foot Gillig Phantom buses (which were also Ride On's last buses without wheelchair lifts), therefore resulting in an all-accessible fleet.

In 2006, Ride On started accepting SmarTrip cards. All of the buses would be equipped with SmarTrip-compatible fare boxes by August of that year.

Also in 2006, Ride On's first 5 hybrid-electric buses, the 2006 40-foot Gillig Low Floor aka Gillig Advantage buses (5300-5304), went into service. The following year (2007), eight additional 40-foot Gillig Low Floor hybrid-electric buses (5305-5313) went into service.

Between the summer and fall of 2008, Ride On's first low-floor diesel buses, the 2008 29-foot Gillig Advantage (5001-5006) and 2008 40-foot Gillig Advantage buses (5726–5746), went into service. They are the last buses in the second-generation blue-and-white paint scheme.

In 2009, Ride On introduced a new logo and blue-yellow-green paint scheme with the delivery of new Gillig Advantage clean diesel and hybrid buses.

2010s

In the autumn of 2011, Ride On's 12 40-foot Gillig Low Floor hybrid buses (5349–5360) and one clean diesel bus (5758) went into service. All 13 of these buses were purchased with funds from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act. Seven additional 40' Gillig Low Floor hybrid buses (5361–5367), which were also purchased with stimulus funds from the ARRA, went into service in mid-2012.

In July 2012, Ride On retired all 62 of its 2007 Champion cutaway buses due to fires and replaced them with 30 1998 30-foot Orion V buses. All 30 of these units were formerly operated by Washington's WMATA.

On September 19, 2013, 12 new 40-foot Gillig Low Floor clean diesel buses (5759–5770) went into service. A week later (September 26, 2013), 28 new 29-foot Gillig Low Floor clean diesel buses (5032–5059) also went into service. Also, the 2013 29-foot Gillig Low Floor clean diesel buses replaced all of the 2003 model shuttle transit vehicles (STV) that were formerly operated by Pittsburgh's Port Authority of Allegheny County.

In April 2014, 19 brand-new 2014 40-foot Gillig Low Floor CNG buses (5837–5855) entered service. They are Ride On's first new CNG buses in almost a decade (2005 35' Orion VII CNG buses, which went into service in 2006).

Between September and October 2014, 32 new 29-foot Gillig Low Floor clean diesel buses (5060–5091) went into service and replaced all of the 1998 30-foot Orion V buses that were formerly operated by WMATA.

Ride On celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2015, with 3 buses (1 from each of the 3 bus divisions) wrapped in the transit agency's 40th anniversary ad.

Between April and May 2016, 40 new 40' Gillig LF clean diesel buses (4000-4039), 1 29' Gillig LF clean diesel bus (2000) and 16 40' Gillig LF CNG buses (4040-4055) entered service. And with the new buses came the new five-digit numbering system for Ride On, along with the suffix demoting engines ("C" for compressed natural gas, "D" for diesel and "H" for hybrid).

Ride On extRa, a new bus service that started on October 2, 2017, is a new Limited Stop route via 355. It has 12 bus stops between Lakeforest Transit Center and Medical Center Metro Station. This bus route has free WiFi, USB charging ports, and more padding in the seats. As of November 1, 2017, the fare ($2) is the same as a regular Ride On bus. There is also no on-board fare addition to allow for faster service.

Ride On added 59 Gillig 40-foot buses in the summer and the fall of 2017, 42 buses replaced some of the oldest vehicles in the fleet. 17 buses (4056D-4072D) are specially branded and used exclusively for Ride On’s new extRa service that began October 2, 2017. This limited-stop service runs along Route 355 from Lakeforest Transit Center to Medical Center Metro Station. All of the 59 buses are manufactured by Gillig; 25 run on clean diesel (4056D-4080D) and 34 use compressed natural gas (4081C-4114C). Four additional 40-foot CNG buses (4115C-4118C) entered service in the winter of 2018.

Ride On was award a $1.75 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration to purchase the county’s first four electric buses and charging stations. Ride On is partnering with Proterra, the bus manufacturer, and the Center for Transportation and the Environment, a nonprofit that develops technologies and implements solutions to achieve energy and environmental sustainability. The Montgomery County Department of General Services, which purchases and maintains the Ride On buses, greatly assisted with the grant application. The four Proterra Catalyst 35 ft electric buses are scheduled to serve Route 18 in Takoma Park starting in 2019. The county has applied for a separate grant to help buy 10 more electric buses through FTA’s Bus and Bus Facilities Infrastructure Investment Program. The county expects to hear back around the end of the year if its application was approved.

Fares

Ride On's current one-way fare is $2.00 for riders using cash and for riders using SmarTrip. Senior citizens and persons with disabilities ride free on weekdays between 9:30 AM and 3:00 PM, and on Saturdays between 8:30 AM and 4:00 PM; at all other times, a reduced fare of $1.00 is charged. Ride On offers a $0.50 discount for bus fares that transfer from the Washington Metro.

As with all other transit providers in the Washington Metropolitan Area, as of January 4, 2009, Ride On stopped the issue or acceptance of paper transfers. Riders wanting transfer credit must use a SmarTrip card to get the rail-to-bus discount or to transfer free from bus to bus.

Routes

Ride On offers 81 routes throughout Montgomery County. All routes run through Peak Rush Hour Period between 6AM and 9AM and 3PM to 7PM on weekdays. Many routes offer services for off-peak hours and weekends as well.

Ride On Routes

Route	Termini (Western/Southern)	Termini (Eastern/Northern)	Weekday Peak	Weekday Off-Peak	Saturday	Sunday	Notes
1	Friendship Heights	Silver Spring	Y	Y	Y	Y
2A	Silver Spring	Silver Spring	Y	Y	Y	Y	operates loop via East West Hwy, Lyttonsville Rd, Michigan Av & Sundale Dr, began service May 13, 2018 due to Purple Line construction
2B	Silver Spring	Brookville Ops Ctr	Y	N	N	N	operates via 16 St, 2 Av, Ft Detrick (to Brkvle Ops AM, Slvr Spg PM) & Brookville Rd, began service May 13, 2018 due to Purple Line construction
4	Kensington	Silver Spring	Y	N	N	N
5	Twinbrook	Silver Spring	Y	Y	Y	Y
6	Montgomery Mall Transit Center	Grosvenor Station	Y	Y	N	N
7	Forest Glen	Wheaton	Y	N	N	N
8	Silver Spring	Wheaton	Y	Y	Y	N	Via Forest Glen Rd & Holy Cross Hospital
9	Silver Spring	Wheaton	Y	Y	Y	Y
10	Twinbrook	Hillandale	Y	Y	Y	Y	replaced WMATA Metrobus Route C6 in 1998
11	Friendship Heights	Silver Spring	Y	N	N	N	AM from Silver Spring, PM from Friendship Heights
12	Silver Spring	Takoma	Y	Y	Y	Y	via Carroll Ave
13	Silver Spring	Takoma	Y	N	N	N	via Sligo Creek Pkwy
14	Silver Spring	Takoma	Y	Y	Y	N	via Colesville Rd
15	Silver Spring	Takoma Langley Transit Center	Y	Y	Y	Y	Second highest ridership in system, avg. 4,500 per day
16	Silver Spring	Takoma	Y	Y	Y	Y
17	Silver Spring	Takoma Langley Transit Center	Y	Y	Y	Y	via Montgomery College in Takoma Park
18	Silver Spring	Takoma Langley Transit Center	Y	Y	Y	Y	via Takoma, Sunday service between Langley Park and Takoma station only (no Sunday service between Takoma and Silver Spring stations)
19	Silver Spring	Dallas Ave	Y	N	N	N	AM from Dallas Ave, PM from Silver Spring
20	Silver Spring	Hillandale	Y	Y	Y	Y
21	Silver Spring	Briggs Chaney Park and Ride	Y	N	N	N	AM from Briggs Chaney, PM from Silver Spring
22	Silver Spring	Hillandale	Y	N	N	N
23	Sibley Hospital	Friendship Heights	Y	Y	Y	N
24	Takoma	Hillandale	Y	N	N	N
25	Takoma	Takoma Langley Transit Center	Y	N	N	N	via Maple Ave
26	Montgomery Mall Transit Center	Glenmont	Y	Y	Y	Y	Replaced original WMATA Metrobus Route C8 in 1996
28	Silver Spring	Silver Spring	Y	Y	Y	N	Free service at all times, VanGO Shuttle Loop around Downtown Silver Spring
29	Friendship Heights	Bethesda / Glen Echo	Y	Y	Y	Y	Bethesda weekday terminus, Glen Echo weekend terminus, replaces WMATA Metrobus Route N8 and old Ride On Route 31
30	Bethesda	Medical Center	Y	Y	N	N
31	Wheaton	Glenmont	Y	N	N	N	via Poplar Run.
32	Naval Ship R&D Center, Woodrock	Bethesda	Y	N	N	N	via Cabin John
33	Medical Center	Glenmont	Y	N	N	N
34	Friendship Heights	Wheaton	Y	Y	Y	Y	Serves Aspen Hill to Friendship Hts AM Rush, From Friendship Hts to Aspen Hill PM Rush
36	Bradley Blvd Connelly School	Bethesda	Y	Y	N	N	Via Bradley Blvd Via Hillandale Rd (Rush Hour Only) AM to Bethesda PM to Connelly School
37	Potomac Community Center	Wheaton	Y	N	N	N	Serves Grosvenor, AM from Wheaton, PM to Wheaton
38	White Flint	Wheaton	Y	Y	Y	Y
39	Glenmont	Briggs Chaney Park and Ride	Y	N	N	N
41	Glenmont	Aspen Hill	Y	Y	Y	Y
42	Montgomery Mall Transit Center	White Flint	Y	Y	Y	N
43	Traville Transit Center	Shady Grove	Y	Y	Y	N	via Shady Grove Rd and Medical Center Dr, serves Montgomery County's Johns Hopkins University campus, Shady Grove Adventist Hospital, Fallsgrove Center, and the Universities at Shady Grove
44	Twinbrook	Rockville	Y	N	N	N
45	Twinbrook	Fallsgrove Center	Y	Y	Y	N
46	Medical Center	Montgomery College Rockville Campus	Y	Y	Y	Y	via N. Washington St and Rockville Pike, serves Rockville Town Center, Montgomery County Circuit Court, Rockville District Court, Rockville, Twinbrook, White Flint, and Grosvenor-Strathmore stations.
47	Bethesda	Rockville	Y	Y	Y	Y	via Falls Rd, Wootton Pkwy, Seven Locks Rd, Fernwood Rd, and Old Georgetown Rd. Serves Montgomery Mall and Suburban Hospital.
48	Wheaton	Rockville	Y	Y	Y	Y	Replaced original WMATA Metrobus Route Q4 in the mid 1990s
49	Rockville	Glenmont	Y	Y	Y	Y	Replaced WMATA Metrobus Route Y4 in 1998
51	Glenmont	Norbeck Park and Ride	Y	N	N	N
52	Rockville	MedStar Montgomery Medical Center	Y	N	N	N
53	Shady Grove	Glenmont	Y	N	N	N
54	Rockville	Lakeforest Transit Center	Y	Y	Y	Y	via Muddy Branch Rd, Research Blvd, and W. Montgomery Ave., serves Washingtonian Rio
55	Rockville	Germantown Transit Center	Y	Y	Y	Y	via Frederick Rd; serves Milestone Center, Montgomery College in Germantown (Monday-Saturday) and Rockville, Lakeforest Transit Center, Shady Grove station, and Rockville Town Center; Sunday service was extended to Rockville station on September 17, 2017
56	Rockville	Lakeforest Transit Center	Y	Y	Y	Y	via Falls Rd, Wootton Pkwy, Darnestown Rd, and Quince Orchard Rd, serves Fallsgrove Center, Shady Grove Adventist Hospital, Kentlands and Gaithersburg Park & Ride
57	Shady Grove	Lakeforest Transit Center	Y	Y	Y	Y	via Washington Grove Rd, Muncaster Mill Rd, and Redland Rd. Serves the Gaithersburg MARC station
58	Shady Grove	Lakeforest Transit Center	Y	Y	Y	Y	via Snouffer School Rd and East Village, serves Kaiser Permanente on Weekdays
59	Rockville	Montgomery Village	Y	Y	Y	Y	via Frederick Rd, Deer Park Rd, Gude Dr, Crabbs Branch Way, and Stonestreet Ave. Serves Lakeforest Transit Center and Shady Grove station
60	Shady Grove	Montgomery Village	Y	N	N	N	via Shady Grove Rd, Midcounty Hwy, Washington Grove Ln, Flower Hill Way, and Centerway Rd. AM from Montgomery Village, PM from Shady Grove
61	Shady Grove	Germantown Transit Center	Y	Y	Y	Y	via Germantown Rd, Clopper Rd, Frederick Rd, and Girard St., serves Germantown MARC station, Kingsview Park & Ride, Metropolitan MARC station at certain times on weekdays, Gaithersburg Park & Ride, Lakeforest Transit Center, and Washington Grove MARC station
63	Rockville	Shady Grove	Y	Y	N	N	via Gaither Road and Piccard Drive
64	Shady Grove	Montgomery Village	Y	Y	Y	Y	via Centerway Road and Emory Grove Road
65	Shady Grove	Montgomery Village	Y	N	N	N	Limited Stops via Midcounty Hwy, AM from Montgomery Village, PM from Shady Grove
66	Traville Transit Center	Shady Grove	Y	N	N	N	via Shady Grove Adventist Hospital, AM from Shady Grove, PM from Traville
67	Traville Transit Center	Shady Grove	Y	N	N	N	via Frederick Avenue and Dufief Mill Road, AM from Traville, PM from Shady Grove
70	Bethesda	Milestone Park & Ride	Y	N	N	N	Express Route (Special Fare), via I-270. Serves Medical Center station
71	Shady Grove	Kingsview Park & Ride	Y	N	N	N	via I-370, I-270, Clopper Rd, Mateny Rd, Dawson Farm Rd, and Steeple Rd AM: Shady Grove, PM: Kingsview Park & Ride
73	Shady Grove	Cabin Branch (Clarksburg)	Y	N	N	N	via I-370, I-270, Frederick Rd, Clarksburg Rd, and W Old Baltimore Rd
74	Shady Grove	Germantown Transit Center	Y	Y	Y	N	via I-370 and Great Seneca Hwy, serves Kingsview Park & Ride, Kentlands, Montgomery County's Johns Hopkins University campus, and Washingtonian Rio.
75	Germantown Transit Center	Montgomery County Correctional Facility	Y	Y	Y	Y	via Frederick Rd and Snowden Farm Pkwy, serves Milestone Center and Clarksburg Premium Outlets
76	Poolesville	Shady Grove	Y	Y	N	N	via I-370, Muddy Branch Rd, Great Seneca Hwy, and Darnestown Rd, serving Kentlands and Quince Orchard High School
78	Shady Grove	Kingsview Park & Ride	Y	N	N	N	via I-370, I-270, Clopper Rd, Mateny Rd, and Richter Farm Rd AM: Shady Grove, PM: Kingsview Park & Ride
79	Shady Grove	Clarksburg Gateway Center	Y	N	N	N	via I-370, I-270, Middlebrook Rd, and Ridge Rd. AM from Clarksburg, PM from Shady Grove
81	White Flint	Rockville	Y	N	N	N	via Tower Oaks Blvd
83	Germantown Transit Center	Holy Cross Hospital Germantown	Y	Y	Y	N	via Century Blvd, Waters Landing Dr, Father Hurley Rd, Ridge Rd, and Seneca Meadows Pkwy; serves Milestone Center and extends to Germantown MARC station during weekday peak hours
90	Shady Grove	Damascus	Y	Y	N	N	via Shady Grove Rd and Woodfield Rd, serves Montgomery County Airpark in the AM heading to Damascus and the PM heading to Shady Grove station
96	Montgomery Mall Transit Center	Grosvenor	Y	Y	N	N	via Tuckerman Ln, Old Georgetown Rd, Rockledge Dr, and Fernwood Rd; serves Rock Spring Park
97	Germantown Transit Center	Germantown Transit Center	Y	Y	Y	Y	A circular loop route, via Middlebrook Rd, Father Hurley Blvd, Wisteria Dr, and Waring Station Rd; serves Germantown Town Center and the Germantown MARC station during weekday peak hours AM: Clockwise loop, PM: Counterclockwise loop
98	Kingsview Park & Ride	Germantown Transit Center	Y	Y	Y	N	via Clopper Rd, Schaeffer Rd, Richter Farm Rd, Steeple Rd, Father Hurley Blvd, Wisteria Dr, Wanegarden Dr, Wynnfield Dr, and Water Landing Dr; serves Germantown Community Center during weekday non-peak hours, Cinnamon Woods during weekday peak hours, and Maryland SoccerPlex on Saturdays
100	Shady Grove	Germantown Transit Center	Y	Y	Y	Y	Express via I-370 and I-270
101 (Ride On extRa)	Medical Center	Lakeforest Transit Center	Y	N	N	N	Started service on October 2, 2017. Route overlays Route 46 & 55 on MD 355 that serves only 12 stops every 10 minutes. AM times: 5:30am–9:30am, PM times: 3:30pm–7:30pm
129 (Limited Stop)	Silver Spring	Burtonsville Park & Ride	Y	N	N		Started service on May 14th, 2018. Limited Stop service between Silver Spring & Burtonsville P&R Only serves 13 stops every 15 minutes. AM times: 5:30am-9:00am, PM times: 3:00pm-7:00pm Via Colesville Rd , Lockwood Dr , Stewart Ln ,Tech Rd Park & Ride , Briggs Chaney P&R , Castle Blvd
301	Tobytown Dr	Rockville	Y	Y	Y	Y	Started service on October 2, 2016. Serves North Potomac and Shady Grove Adventist Hospital

Additionally, Ride On operates two weekend routes that are served by WMATA Metrobus on weekdays.

Ride On Routes

Route	Termini (Western/Southern)	Termini (Eastern/Northern)	Weekday Peak	Weekday Off-Peak	Saturday	Sunday	Notes
L8	Friendship Heights	Aspen Hill	(WMATA Metrobus)	(WMATA Metrobus)	Y	Y
T2	Friendship Heights	Rockville	(WMATA Metrobus)	(WMATA Metrobus)	Y	Y	via Potomac

Active Fleet

Ride On operates a fleet consisting of Diesel, CNG, and Diesel-electric hybrid buses produced by Orion Bus Industries, Gillig Corporation and New Flyer Industries.

Year	Manufacturer	Model	Length (ft.)	Picture	Engine/Transmission	Fleet Series (Qty.)
<<< Diesel >>>
2008–17	Gillig	Low Floor Advantage	29		Cummins ISL/Allison B400R	5001–5091, 2000D (92)
			40			5726–5770, 4000D-4039D, 4073D-4080D (93)
		Low Floor BRT Plus				4056D-4072D (17)
<<< Diesel-electric Hybrid >>>
2006–12	Gillig	Low Floor Advantage Hybrid	40		Cummins ISB/Allison EP-40 HybriDrive	5300–5312, 5314–5347, 5349-5367 (68) 5312 and 5348 are retired as of July 1, 2018
<<< Compressed Natural Gas >>>
2005	Orion	07.502 (VII)	35		DDS 50or Cummins Westport C Gas Plus/Voith D864.3 or Cummins Westport C Gas Plus/ZF 5HP592C	5933–5947, 5949-5957 (25) 5948 is retired as of July 1, 2018
2005	New Flyer	C40LF	40		Cummins Westport C Gas Plus/Allison B400R	5822–5836 (15)
2014-17	Gillig	Low Floor Advantage CNG	40		Cummins ISL-G/Allison B400R	5837–5855, 4040C-4055C, 4081C-4118C (73)

On Order

Year	Manufacturer	Model	Length (ft.)	Engine/Transmission	Fleet Series (Qty.)	Notes
2019	Proterra	Catalyst	35	TBA	TBA (4)	The electric buses are scheduled to serve Route 18 in Takoma Park starting in 2019.

The bus fleet, owned and operated by Ride On, is distributed among three garages in Kensington, Silver Spring and Gaithersburg.

External links

• Official website
• The Schumin Web Transit Center: Ride On
• Oren's Transit Page: Ride On
• GP Bus Gallery
• Ride On at the Wayback Machine (archived February 5, 1998)