Ride-on Services to be Cut Starting Tomorrow

Due to Montgomery County's $1 billion budget shortfall, Ride-on Bus will eliminate segments on five bus routes and lower the frequency of stops on 24 others.

Ride On bus riders will experience more crowded busses as a result, according to manager of operations planning Bill McLaughlin.

The originally planned cuts were 7.5 percent and included entire routes eliminated. But based on public input from a Feb. 1 public forum, the 2011 county budget approved by the Montgomery County Council on May 27 avoided many of the initially proposed cuts. The result was a 2.3 percent reduction of all Ride On service with no full route eliminations.

"Some people will choose not to ride," McLaughlin said, addressing the crowding issue. "We aren't sure where that's going to occur, but we'll be monitoring closely. Still, we don't have a lot of leeway to make adjustments."

The following are route changes from and to the Wheaton areas. Go to Ride-On's website for specific time changes:

• Route 7, originally from Wheaton Metro Station to Armory and Knowles Avenue in Kensington, will be cut to three segments: the Wheaton Metro station to Inwood and University and then to the Forest Glen station. It operates Monday to Friday, peak hours only.
• Route 31, from the Wheaton station to the Glenmont station will have the same number of stops, but its scheduled times will change slightly.
• Route 33, originally running from the Glenmont Metro station to the Bethesda station, will now finish its route at the Medical Center station.
• Route 34, from Bel Pre Road in Aspen Hill to the Friendship Heights station, will run fewer times per day.
• Route 48, from the Wheaton station to the Rockville station on Veirs Mill Road, will run fewer times per day.
• Route 49, from the Wheaton station to the Rockville station through Aspen Hill and Norbeck, will run fewer times per day.
• Route 51, from the Glenmont station to the Norbeck transit center, will have the same number of stops, but its scheduled times will change slightly.