Late update:
No cuts in Metrobus service, and only very slight cuts on Ride-On. Fares on both Metrobus and Ride-On will go to $1.50 with Smartcard, $1.70 cash, effective June 27.
For details on the new Ride-On fares (including passes, transfers, and express fare on Route 70), go here (pdf file).
The County Council adopted a budget that rejects nearly all of the proposed cuts in Ride-On. All bus lines will continue to run for the same hours of service, but some will run less frequently. Routes 22, 32, 33, and 43 will be shortened, and route 7 will be modified.
For more details on the Ride-On cuts, go to this large pdf document. The originally proposed cuts are listed on pages 38 and 39; the items with an arrow on the left are the cuts in the final budget. Cuts will take effect September 5.
Bus Service
Montgomery County takes pride in one of the country's finest suburban bus networks. Good bus and rail transit, coupled with planning that encourages development around Metro stations, is why our traffic problems don't match the horrific congestion of Fairfax County. And bus service boosts the local economy, alleviating the labor shortages that (during better economic times) plagued employers in the allegedly business-friendly Virginia suburbs. Despite the heavy investments in our bus system, it still falls far short of meeting the county's transportation needs. Too often, buses are confusing and inconvenient. Waits between buses are too long; buses rarely go straight to one's destination without transfers; clear schedules and maps are rarely posted at bus stops; and riders are confused when different providers serve the same route. Increasing the total amount of bus service is essential, but if new funding is used just to add more routes like those we already have, these weaknesses will limit growth in ridership.What Needs To Be Done?
Bus priorities
While buses cannot adequately substitute for rail on high-volume corridors like those to be served by the Purple Line and Corridor Cities transitway, it is possible to use concepts of so-called "bus rapid transit" to upgrade bus service on other routes. Montgomery County transportation planners envisage a comprehensive system of bus improvements to speed up buses on heavily traveled roads like Veirs Mill Road, Randolph Road, and University Boulevard. The heart of this plan is a series of "queue-jumper" lanes that allow buses to bypass traffic backups at red lights. ACT strongly supports this concept. Unfortunately, the first of these projects, on Veirs Mill Road -- which is among the most heavily traveled bus corridors in the county, with buses already carrying as many people as one lane of auto traffic -- was rejected by the State Highway Administration after a single bypass was built at Aspen Hill Road. SHA is building turn lanes for automobiles in place of the bus bypass lanes.
In December 2008, ACT wrote to County Executive Leggett and asked him to take action at ten
locations where Montgomery County could institute bus priorities at no cost
and minimal inconvenience to drivers. After a long delay, the county sent this response. Some problems will be fixed, but the county Dept. of Transportation remains unwilling to change its policies that give highest priority to the movement of single-occupant automobiles.
More Information at Bus Stops
Clear, accurate information about schedules and routes is needed by current bus riders - and it is essential if we are to attract more riders. Large investments are being made in electronic displays at a few stops, but meanwhile most bus stops in Montgomery County now have no timetable at all, and where information is posted, it is often inadequate. Both systems need to make a substantial investment of funds and management attention in the unglamorous but very important area of posting timetables at stops.Back to Basics
Perhaps the only thing that all sides in the transportation and development wars agree on is that the more people ride buses, the better. But Montgomery County is much better at grand ideas than down-to-earth solutions. We have forgotten a basic principle -- most people won't ride the bus unless it goes where they want to go when they want to get there.Information on Existing Bus Service
Ride-On Bus
The Ride-On Bus system is administered by the Montgomery County Department
of Public Works & Transportation's Transit Services Division.
General information about Ride On
Ride On timetables
Letter to County Council on Funding Ride On
Metrobus
The Metro Bus system is an area-wide system managed by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.General information about Metrobus and WMATA
Metrobus timetables