County Council To Vote On Suspending Ride On Bus Fare Through January

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD — The County Council will hold a public hearing and vote tomorrow on continuing to provide Ride On bus service free to riders. The fare was initially waived because of the pandemic, and with this vote service could continue to be free until Jan. 1, 2022.

The free fare is currently only scheduled to last through Sept. 30, 2021.

“Public transportation is vital to our community and fare-free service has collectively saved our residents millions of dollars in commuting costs at a time when we know that many are still struggling financially because of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Council President Tom Hucker in a statement. “Keeping Ride On fares suspended keeps our County moving, is consistent with our climate and racial equity goals, and eliminates the cost burden from our lowest-income residents as they continue to use public transportation to reach their jobs and conduct essential activities.”

A report from Council’s Office of Legislative Oversight shows that nearly half of Ride On customers have an annual income of less than $30,000, nearly half are people of color and 42 percent speak a language other than English at home, the council said in a release.

The council said that it was expecting to have the results of a fare equity study — requested by County Executive Marc Elrich in May — to have come back by now, along with a recommendation on fares from Elrich. The council has not received either, it said in a statement, but will hold another public hearing on the proposed new fare when those things come in.

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