MoCo Ride On buses now free to ride

All Ride On buses, which circulate throughout Montgomery County, are now fare-free for all riders, a change that became effective June 29.

The policy was spearheaded by Montgomery County Councilmember Evan Glass (D-At-large), who chairs the council’s Transportation and Environment Committee, in partnership with the county’s Department of Transportation.

“Ultimately, this is about making sure that as many people [as possible] can safely travel without having a financial barrier,” Glass told Bethesda Today on Wednesday. “Fare-free buses are the way to go.”

The county faced the process of replacing all of its aging fare boxes, a task that could cost up to $20 million, according to transportation department spokesperson Emily DeTitta. Instead, the department chose to eliminate the $1 fares entirely.“

Most people are riding the bus without paying a fare — that would mean we would not have the revenues to pay back the $19 million,” County Executive Marc Elrich (D) said during a virtual press briefing Wednesday afternoon.

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority required services such as the county’s Ride On buses that operate in conjunction with its Metro and Metrobuses to update to a new fare collection system. That system allows riders to tap a credit or debit card instead of having to use a SmarTrip card.

Ride On fares were $2 until the COVID-19 pandemic when bus rides became free temporarily. Following the pandemic, Glass advocated for bus rides to remain free, but compromised with Elrich to reduce pre-pandemic fares to $1. Glass is one of the candidates running to replace Elrich as county executive in 2026.

With fares at that price point, the Ride On bus service was projecting to collect up to $3 million in fare revenue annually despite having close to 20 million riders, DeTitta said. That meant it would take six to 10 years to pay the cost of replacing the fare collection systems.

The entire Bethesda Beat article can be read here.