Beginning Sunday, January 10, Ride On made schedule changes
to 15 bus routes.
The following routes were changed:
3, 8, 9, 14, 23, 32, 34, 38, 42, 45, 47, 53, 83, 97 and 98
(Click on the route number to view the new timetable.)
A summary of the route improvements are listed below:
Route 14: One trip was adjusted to accommodate
students as a result of the change in Montgomery County Public Schools start
times.
Route 42: In order to help close the significant
budget shortfall facing the County in FY16, the Route 42 has reduced service.
Weekday service after 8 p.m. has been eliminated and Saturday service operates
from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. There is no Sunday service.
Route 45: One trip was adjusted to accommodate
students as a result of the change in Montgomery County Public Schools start
times.
Route 83: In order to help close the significant
budget shortfall facing the County in FY16, the Route 83 has reduced service. Weekday
service remains unchanged. Saturday service operates from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
There is no Sunday service.
Route 98: In order to help close the significant
budget shortfall facing the County in FY16, the Route 98 has reduced service.
Weekday service after 8 p.m. has been eliminated and Saturday service operates
from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. There is no Sunday service. Also, one trip was added
to accommodate students as a result of the change in Montgomery County Public
Schools start times.
Routes 3, 8, 9, 14, 23, 32, 34, 38, 47, 53 and
97 were adjusted due to run time changes and/or efficiency efforts.
After much anticipation, Ride On is pleased to announce that
it has published a new system map to help Montgomery County residents and
visitors plan their travel using transit with ease.
In addition to Ride On’s 78 routes, the map shows other
transportation options including Metrobus, Metrorail, MARC Commuter Rail, MTA
Commuter Bus, local shuttles, Amtrak and Greyhound.
Pick up your map today at any of the following locations:
-
Executive Office Building101 Monroe Street, 5th
Floor, Rockville, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
-
Montgomery County Treasury, 255 Rockville Pike, Suite
L-15, Rockville, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
-
TRiPS Commuter Stores in Silver Spring and Friendship
Heights
- All Metro stations in Montgomery County and
select MARC stations (Gaithersburg, Germantown, Silver Spring and Rockville)
-
Montgomery County Public Libraries (maps will be
available at branches later this month)
- Regional Service Centers
The system map is also accessible on our website in electronic form.
The Ride On bus system has won the Transportation
Association of Maryland (TAM) award for outstanding program for its Bus Route
94 “Meet The MARC” marketing campaign. The award was announced at TAM’s 2015
Expo on September 30th.
“I’m proud that Ride On has been recognized twice within a
year by TAM – first as the transit system of the year and now for conducting an
outstanding marketing campaign,” said Transit Services Division Chief Carolyn
Biggins. “Ride On strives to provide excellent service – both in our operations
and by educating residents about their travel options to encourage more people
to try transit.”
The Route 94 provides service to 11 stops in Clarksburg
Village and express service to the Germantown MARC train station. The bus waits
for rush hour MARC trains.
To promote the service, Ride On:
- Created a timetable that integrates the bus schedule with the MARC train
schedule;
- Created flyers distributed to local retailers, the local post office, gas
stations, civic associations, homeowner associations and apartment rental
offices;
- Placed flyers on 700 vehicles parked at the Germantown MARC station;
- Advertised the service in the (previously published) Gazette, India This
Week, Express India, China Press Weekly and Epoch Times;
- Advertised the service on the WTOP radio station website and mobile app;
- Hung door hangers at 6,000 homes;
- Mailed postcards to 5,000 homes; and
- Advertised the service on bus stops and bus shelters.
TAM is a statewide professional association that
serves and represents those dedicated to improving mobility and economic
opportunity for all Maryland residents.
Leslie St. Louis, an operator from Ride On’s Gaithersburg
Depot, took home first place at the transit system’s annual bus “Roadeo” held
on Saturday, October 10 at the Public Safety Training Academy in Rockville.
The competition allows bus operators to demonstrate their
driving skills, with the winner advancing to the American Public Transportation
Association (APTA) International Bus Roadeo that will be held in Portland,
Oregon in May 2016. Last year’s Ride On winner, Alex Folgar, placed seventh in
the international event.
In the roadeo, bus operators are judged by their ability to
successfully maneuver around 11 obstacles within seven minutes. Operators are
also judged on personal appearance, smoothness of operations, their knowledge
of the Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines, safety habits, and how they
perform a pre-trip bus inspection. The guidelines and judging criteria are
specified by APTA.
MCDOT Transit Services Division Chief Carolyn Biggins was on
hand to present the awards. About 40 members of the public attended the event.
This year’s other participants included Lawrence Marshall,
George Agyekum, Patrick Simen, Julio Fernandez, Murid Omid, Eze Iheme, Carlos
Nichoai, Tomeka Brown, Ana Fernandez and Warren Jackson.
The Ride On bus system has installed real time signs in ten Ride
On bus shelters that are similar to transit screens installed earlier this year
in the Executive Office Building and the Council Office Building. The signs
display customized information showing when the next Ride On and Metro buses
will arrive at that location. A unique feature of the signs is a real time map
that allows riders to trace their bus’ progress. In addition, the signs
continually scroll Ride On’s Facebook and Twitter feeds.
In-house Ride On staff created the programming and graphics
to make better use of the “big data” it collects on its bus system. Ride On
plans to make its data more accessible to the public to enhance their traveling
experience and get them the information they need to make taking transit more
predictable. Ride On is using beam technology to count passenger boardings and
exits at each stop and GPS to track bus locations in real time.
The data feed to the new bus stop signs is accurate to
within about one to two minutes. This accuracy will improve in the future if
plans to switch from a radio wave based system to a cellular system are
realized.
Ride On selected bus shelters with high ridership and
distributed the signs around the County. The locations of the signs and the bus
routes serving each one are:
- Observation Drive at Montgomery College,
Southbound - 55
- Monroe Street at Monroe Place, Westbound - 44,
46, 47,54,56, 63
- Bel Pre Road at Grand Pre Road, Eastbound - 34,
41, 49, L8
- Stewart Lane at Old Columbia Pike, Southbound -
10, Z's
- Rockledge Drive at Democracy Blvd, Eastbound -
47,96, J's
- Clubhouse at Montgomery Village Ave, Southbound
- 59, 60, 64, 65
- Rockville Pike at Edson Lane, Southbound - 5,
46, J5
- Clopper Rd at Mateny Rd, Eastbound - 61, 71, 78
- Powder Mill Rd at New Hampshire Ave., Eastbound
- 10,20, 22,24
- Muncaster Mill Road at Woodfield Road, Northbound
- 57, 58, 90
The signs were funded using a State grant from the Maryland
Transit Administration.
As a way to show gratitude to loyal customers, the Ride On
marketing team thanked nearly 3,000 riders and gave out free gifts at eight
different Customer Appreciation Day events held across the county last year.
The two-hour events were held during rush hour at White Oak
Transit Center and metro stations in Bethesda, Shady Grove, Wheaton, Rockville,
White Flint, Friendship Heights and Medical Center.
Ride On handed out a variety of free items including
t-shirts, water bottles, tote bags, pens, badge holders and reflector lights.
More Customer Appreciation events will be
planned for 2016. Be sure to check us out on social media often to find out
details about future events.
   
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