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	80
Fleet	540
Daily ridership	82,100 (2015)
Annual ridership	25,293,700 (2015)
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. Ride On also serves the Takoma Metro station, and Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C.

Ride On operates 80 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.

Ride On began service on March 31, 1975.

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 2004.

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.

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.

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 (44000-44039), 1 29' Gillig LF clean diesel bus (42000) and 16 40' Gillig LF CNG buses (44040-44055) 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).

Fares

Ride On's current fares are $1.75 for riders using cash and for riders using SmarTrip. Senior citizens and persons with disabilities ride free weekdays between 9:30AM and 3PM; on other times a discounted fare of $0.85 is offered. 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 Metro 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 80 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
2	Lyttonsville	Silver Spring	Y	Y	Y	Y	Services Ride On's Bus Garage in Silver Spring
3	Silver Spring	Takoma	Y	N	N	N	AM from Takoma, PM from Silver Spring
4	Kensington	Silver Spring	Y	N	N	N	rerouted to 2nd Avenue in the 1990s
5	Twinbrook	Silver Spring	Y	Y	Y	Y	rerouted to 16th Street and Spring Street in the late 1990s
6	Montgomery Mall	Parkside - Grosvenor	Y	Y	N	N	Wheaton service replaced by Route 37 in 2007
7	Forest Glen	Wheaton	Y	N	N	N	Kensington service discontinued in 2010
8	Silver Spring	Wheaton	Y	Y	Y	N	via Forest Glen Rd
9	Silver Spring	Wheaton	Y	Y	Y	Y	via Amherst Ave, replaced the old Route 40 in 1998
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 University Blvd, often services Eastern Middle School
15	Silver Spring	Langley Park	Y	Y	Y	Y	Second highest ridership in system, avg. 4,500 per day
16	Silver Spring	Takoma	Y	Y	Y	Y	via New Hampshire Ave, service extended to Takoma Park after 1997 annexation by Montgomery County
17	Silver Spring	Langley Park	Y	Y	Y	Y	via Montgomery College in Takoma Park
18	Silver Spring	Langley Park	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	Northwood/Dallas Ave	Y	N	N	N	AM from Dallas Ave, PM from Silver Spring
20	Silver Spring	Hillandale	Y	Y	Y	Y	via Piney Branch Ave
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	via White Oak Research Center/FDA, AM from Hillandale, PM from Silver Spring
23	Sibley Hospital	Friendship Heights	Y	Y	Y	N	via University Blvd, often services Eastern Middle School
24	Takoma	Hillandale	Y	N	N	N
25	Takoma	Langley Park	Y	N	N	N	via Maple Ave
26	Montgomery Mall	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
32	Naval Ship R&D Center, Woodrock	Bethesda	Y	N	N	N	via Cabin John
33	Medical Center	Glenmont	Y	N	N	N	Previous service to Bethesda and Wheaton discontinued
34	Friendship Heights	Aspen Hill	Y	Y	Y	Y	Replaced 31 and 32 bus service in 1990s, peak hours service to Aspen Hill
36	Potomac	Bethesda	Y	Y	N	N	via Hillandale Rd and Bradley Blvd, serves Connely 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	Truncated from Montgomery Mall to White Flint in 2013, Remaining route now Route 42
39	Glenmont	Briggs Chaney Park and Ride	Y	N	N	N
41	Glenmont	Aspen Hill	Y	Y	Y	Y	Replaced WMATA Metrobus Route Y6 in 1996
42	Montgomery Mall	White Flint	Y	Y	Y	N	see Route 38.
43	Traville Transit Center	Shady Grove	Y	Y	Y	N	via Shady Grove Adventist Hospital
44	Twinbrook	Rockville	Y	N	N	N
45	Twinbrook	Rockville Regional Transit Center/Fallsgrove	Y	Y	Y	N
46	Medical Center	Montgomery College Rockville Campus	Y	Y	Y	Y	Midnight and Sunday service to Shady Grove
47	Bethesda	Rockville	Y	Y	Y	Y	Serves Montgomery Mall
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	Y	Y	Y	Y	via Muddy Branch Rd, serves Rio
55	Rockville	Germantown Transit Center	Y	Y	Y	Y	Highest ridership Avg. 8,000 per day, serves Montgomery College in Germantown and Rockville, Sunday service between Germantown Transit Center and Shady Grove station only (no Sunday service between Shady Grove and Rockville stations)
56	Rockville	Lakeforest	Y	Y	Y	Y	via Quince Orchard Rd and Darnestown Rd, serves Kentlands
57	Shady Grove	Lakeforest	Y	Y	Y	Y	via Redland Rd
58	Shady Grove	Lakeforest	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 Gude Dr, Crabbs Branch Way and Deer Park Road
60	Shady Grove	Montgomery Village	Y	N	N	N	AM from Montgomery Village, PM from Shady Grove
61	Shady Grove	Germantown, Maryland Transit Center	Y	Y	Y	Y	via Clopper Road and Girard Street
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 Mid-County Highway, 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	Germantown, Maryland Milestone Transit Center	Y	N	N	N	Express Route (Special Fare), via I-270
71	Shady Grove	Kingsview Park and Ride	Y	N	N	N	via I-270 and Mateny Rd, AM from Kingsview, PM from Shady Grove
74	Shady Grove	Germantown, Maryland Transit Center	Y	Y	N	N	via Great Seneca Highway, serves Kentlands and Rio
75	Germantown Transit Center	Clarksburg Correctional Center	Y	Y	N	N
76	Poolesville	Shady Grove	Y	Y	N	N	via Kentlands
78	Shady Grove	Kingsview Park and Ride	Y	N	N	N	via I-270 and Richter Farm Road, AM from Kingsview, PM from Shady Grove
79	Shady Grove	Clarksburg Gateway Center	Y	N	N	N	via I-270, AM from Clarksburg, PM from Shady Grove
81	White Flint	Rockville	Y	N	N	N	via Tower Oaks Blvd
83	Germantown MARC	Holy Cross Hospital Germantown	Y	Y	Y	N	via Germantown Transit Center, MARC station served weekdays only
90	Shady Grove	Damascus	Y	Y	N	N
93	Twinbrook	DHHS Parklawn Shuttle	Y	N	N	N
94	Germantown MARC	Clarksburg Gateway Center	Y	N	N	N
96	Montgomery Mall/Rock Spring Center	Grosvenor	Y	Y	N	N	Montgomery Mall served peak hours only
97	Germantown, Maryland Transit Center, Germantown Loop	via Germantown MARC, Gunners Lake	Y	Y	Y	Y	Clockwise AM, Counterclockwise PM
98	Kingsview Park and Ride	Germantown, Maryland Transit Center	Y	Y	Y	N	via Father Hurley Blvd
100	Shady Grove	Germantown, Maryland Transit Center	Y	Y	Y	Y	Express via I-270
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

Fleet

Ride On operates a fleet consisting mainly 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 >>>
1999	Gillig	Phantom	35	Ride On Gillig Phantom 5410	DDS 50/Voith D863.3 or Cummins M-11/Allison B400R	5410–5423 (14) *all units retired as of March 2015
1996	Orion	05.503 (V)			Cummins M-11/Voith D863.3	5550–5566 (17) *all units retired as of September 30, 2013
1998						5572–5579 (8) *all units retired as of September 30, 2013
1999			40	Ride On Orion V	DDS 50/Voith D863.3	5705–5725 (21) *All units retired as of June 2016
2001–02		05.504 (V)	35			5580–5623 (44) "All units retired as of July 2016
2008–16	Gillig	Low Floor	29		Cummins ISL/Allison B400R	5001–5091, 42000D (92)
			40	Ride On 5755		5726–5770, 44000D-44039D (85)
<<< Diesel-electric Hybrid >>>
2006–12	Gillig	Low Floor	40		Cummins ISB/Allison EP-40 HybriDrive	5300–5313, 5314–5367 (68)
<<< Compressed Natural Gas >>>
2000	Orion	05.501 (V)	40	Ride On Orion V CNG	DDS 50/Voith D863.3	5803–5821 (19) *all units retired as of May 2014
2003–05	Orion	07.502 (VII)	35		DDS 50or Cummins Westport C Gas Plus/Voith D864.3 or Cummins Westport C Gas Plus/ZF 5HP592C	5900–5957 (58)
2005	New Flyer	C40LF	40	Ride On New Flyer C40LF	Cummins Westport C Gas Plus/Allison B400R	5822–5836 (15)
2014-16	Gillig	Low Floor(CNG)	40	40' CNG Gillig Low Floor 5848 on route 59.	Cummins ISL-G/Allison B400R	5837–5855, 44040C-44055C (33)

The bus fleet, owned and operated by Ride On, is distributed among three garages in Kensington, Silver Spring and Gaithersburg. Gaithersburg garage is located adjacent to the Shady Grove Metro rail yard.

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)