The Montgomery County Department of Transportation announced last week that ridership on the Ride On bus system has increased by twenty percent compared to the previous year.
The Ride On system provided over 18.5 million rides this fiscal year, up from 15.4 million the previous year. According to a ridership report from the American Public Transportation Association, this increase is the second-highest boost in bus ridership in the country among transit systems serving between 15 million and 50 million riders annually.
“The Ride On transit system provides crucial links to employment, education and vital services to our residents,” said Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich. “We know transit systems across the country are still recovering from the reduction in ridership since the pandemic. I am pleased to see riders returning to Ride On. We have made significant investments in our transit system, including our transition to zero-emission buses, as well as new services such as Ride On extRa and Flash Bus Rapid Transit, to adapt to changing community needs and encourage more people to use transit.”
Ride On has seen the most significant increase in ridership on weekdays, with buses transporting more than 58,000 riders each weekday in Fiscal Year 2024, compared with 46,000 weekday riders during the previous fiscal year.
“Our ridership numbers show that more people are choosing public transportation, and we hope to see those numbers continue to grow,” said MCDOT Director Chris Conklin. “We have implemented service changes and dedicated bus lanes to increase efficiency and on-time performance and upgraded our infrastructure to make our bus stops safer and more accessible for pedestrians and cyclists. I am pleased to see that these changes are benefiting our residents and more people are using the services we provide.”
Information about Ride On bus services and routes can be found at montgomerycountymd.gov.
Photo: “11.BusStop.SSMD.20October2020” by Elvert Barnes is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.