New Ride On Route 27 to begin July 17

A new Ride On bus route, Route 27, will begin on July 17, 2022. It will connect the Hillandale Transit Center with the Tech Road Park and Ride lot. The primary stop along the way will be the Adventist Healthcare White Oak Medical Center at 11980 Healing Way in Silver Spring. Don't forget that on August 1, 2022, you'll have to again pay to use Ride On. The Montgomery County Council has set the fare at $1.

Montgomery County to break ground on Smart Energy bus depot in Lyttonsville

Montgomery County has announced it will break ground on a new Smart Energy bus depot at 8710 Brookville Road in Lyttonsville on September 9, 2021. The depot will charge and service 44 new electric Ride On buses. Delivery of the new depot is anticipated for mid-2022. All 44 electric Ride On buses are expected to enter service by 2023.

Fact check: Is Montgomery County Ride On bus service being cut by Larry Hogan?

A remarkable column about Montgomery County transit appeared in Friday's Washington Post. It was remarkable for two reasons. First, Post columnists have been silent on transit cuts made by the Montgomery County Council over the last decade, including their elimination of the Park and Ride route for Frederick commuters entering Montgomery, and their slashing of weekend bus service in Damascus. And remarkable because it was...false.

Columnist Petula Dvorak was apparently attempting to write a critical piece about service cuts proposed by the Maryland Transit Administration to MTA bus routes and MARC rail service. But a lengthy introduction, and let's-give-the-Council-free-press quotes from councilmembers, suggest that Montgomery County and its Ride On bus service will be the victims of the MTA cuts.

Ride On Route 55 is specifically cited by Dvorak, and later she says the MTA cuts will make the Route 55 buses even more crowded like "sardine cans." She adds that low-income residents in Montgomery County will be "among those devastated by reductions in bus routes." The article paints Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) as the villain who is behind the cuts.

Just one problem - Ride On is not run by the MTA. Ride On is funded by Montgomery County taxpayers, and is run by the Montgomery County Department of Transportation. There are no Hogan cuts to Ride On because Hogan has no authority over or involvement with Ride On. There are no MTA cuts to Ride On routes proposed. If any Ride On cuts are made, they will be made by the Montgomery County Council deciding not to fund those routes.

The column wound up literally being fake news. At best, Capitol Hill resident Dvorak did not realize the MTA doesn't run all bus service in the state of Maryland.

Depicting Montgomery County Council members as heroes fighting to save Ride On bus service in the County doesn't even pass the laugh test, much less a fact check. If they are working so hard to save transit, why have they still not restored weekend service on Route 90 in Damascus, a 2010 Ride On cut that left car-free residents stranded in town on weekends?

Is Montgomery County Ride On bus service being cut by Larry Hogan? Nope. It has been cut in the past by the Montgomery County Council, though.

Fact check score: FOUR PINOCCHIOS 

Ride On Route 52 proposed change would extend service to Good Counsel

Existing Route 52 map

The Montgomery County Department of Transportation is proposing changes to Route 52, which operates between Olney and the Rockville Metro station. A key change would be extension of the route to serve Our Lady of Good Counsel High School in Olney on selected trips.

Proposed new Route 52 map

A public hearing on the proposed changes will be held this Thursday, November 15, 2018 at William H. Farquhar Middle School, located at 16915 Batchellors Forest Road in Olney at 6:30 PM. There is inclement, possibly winter, weather forecast for Thursday; should the event be canceled, it will be rescheduled for November 19. If you cannot attend the hearing, you can also submit comments to MCDOT's Division of Transit Services by 5:00 PM on November 19 by fax, email or mail to:

Close-up of proposed service
extension to Good Counsel

Division of Transit Services
Ride On Public Forum
101 Monroe Street, 5th Floor
Rockville, Maryland 20850

(240) 777-5800 (phone)
(240) 777-5801 (fax)

mcdot.rideonpublicforums@montgomerycountymd.gov

Police seek suspect who exposed himself, touched teen girl on bus in Wheaton (Photo)

Montgomery County police detectives are asking for the public's assistance in catching a suspect who exposed himself and touched a teenage girl on a Ride On bus in Wheaton on March 30. They have now identified the man on footage from the bus surveillance camera, and released the above photo.

Police say a 17-year-old girl boarded a Ride On bus at the Twinbrook Metro station that evening, and sat down at the back of the bus. She told detectives that the man above, who was already aboard the bus, moved back to sit next to her. After a brief "conversation," he then exposed himself to her, and touched her "inappropriately."

As the bus stopped near the intersection of Randolph Road and Dalewood Drive around 7:30 PM, the girl went forward and told the bus driver what had happened. The bus driver called the police, at which point the suspect was allowed to exit the bus. He apparently was nonchalant enough to take time to collect his bicycle from the mounted rack on the bus, which he then pedaled south on Dalewood Drive, in a successful getaway attempt.

Detectives ask that anyone who recognizes the suspect or who has information about this incident please contact the 4th District Investigative Section at 240-773-5530.  For those who wish to remain anonymous, Crime Solvers of Montgomery County is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for any information that leads to the arrest of the suspect. Tipsters can call Crime Solvers of Montgomery County toll-free at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).

Proposed route change for Ride On 33 would benefit Connecticut Avenue Estates (Photos)

A bus route connecting three of my favorite places in Montgomery County (Glenmont and Connecticut Avenue Estates, and Bethesda) could be in for some changes. Montgomery County's Department of Transportation is proposing to make service changes to Ride On Route 33 (Bethesda Medical Center Metro station to Glenmont Metro station).

The change would divert the bus into the Connecticut Avenue Estates neighborhood near the Glenmont end of the route, to provide better service to that community. Here is a rare case where a bus route change would actually provide more service, rather than less.

Existing route near
Connecticut Avenue Estates

Proposed diversion into
Connecticut Avenue Estates

To comment on the proposed change, you can speak at one of 3 public forums:

Thursday, March 2, 2017 at 7 p.m. (Connecticut Avenue Estates Community)
Highland Elementary School in the All-Purpose Room (Cafeteria)
3100 Medway Street, Silver Spring

Tuesday, March 7, 2017 at 6:30 p.m. (Cabin Branch/Clarksburg Communities)
Clarksburg at Rocky Hill Middle School
22401 Brick Haven Way, Clarksburg

Thursday, March 9, 2017 at 6:30 pm (Poplar Run Community)
Poplar Run Community Center/Clubhouse
13500 Stargazer Lane (off Poplar Run Drive), Silver Spring

Register a minimum of three days in advance of the forum to speak for three minutes, either by email or in writing to the Division of Transit Services, Ride On Public Forum, 101 Monroe Street, 5th Floor, Rockville, MD 20850 and provide the following information:
Date of forum the speaker plans to attend
Name
Home address
Telephone number
E-mail address
Organization

Speakers must bring two printed copies of their testimony to the forum. These forums will end after the last registered speaker. If the forum is cancelled due to inclement weather, it will be rescheduled for March 14, 2017.