Ride On (Maryland)

1970s–1990s

Ride On began service on March 31, 1975, as Ride-On, in response to WMATA asking Montgomery County to pay for the operation of Metro Bus routes within the county. Serving Silver Spring and Takoma Park, two routes were in operation with 20 buses: the Blue and the Green. Within a few weeks, Ride-On was carrying twice the number of passengers projected: about 2,000 riders per day. Ride-On was the first major local bus operator to emerge in the DC Region following the formation of Metro Bus in 1973.^{[citation needed]}

In the fall of 1984, as the Washington Metro's Red Line extension to Shady Grove station was complete, Ride On saw its largest route expansion to date. Numerous routes were added to accommodate passengers who would utilize the eight new Metrorail stations along the western portion of Montgomery County.^{[citation needed]}

2000s

On September 11, 2001, Ride On buses were used to transport Montgomery County firefighters to The Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, to assist in search and rescue operations following the terrorist attacks that occurred on that day.

In 2006, Ride On began accepting SmarTrip cards, and in August of that year, all the Ride On buses started to be equipped with compatible fareboxes.

2010s

On May 20, 2011, a Ride On bus crashed into a KFC restaurant in Glenmont around 7:30 AM. Authorities believed the driver passed out while making a left turn onto Georgia Avenue and lost control of the bus due to having a heart attack. There were three passengers on the bus; the driver and one of the passengers were taken to the hospital for non-life-threatening injuries. The only occupant in the building of the crash was not injured. While the damage to the building was considered minor, an inspector deemed it unsafe, and the restaurant never reopened afterward.

In 2017, Ride On extRa route 101, a new peak hour limited stop service, was launched with service between Lakeforest Mall in Gaithersburg and Medical Center Metro in Bethesda. The route provided a more frequent alternative to existing routes in the corridor, with limited stops and running every 10–15 minutes.^{[citation needed]}

In October 2018, Ride On received a $4.365 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration to replace diesel buses with 10 new battery-electric buses. The first buses were built in 2019 and entered service in 2020.^{[citation needed]}

2020s

In March 2020, Ride On significantly altered bus service in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many routes were suspended with other routes having significantly reduced service. Fare collection was also suspended until July 2022.

On October 14, 2020, Ride On's bus rapid transit service, FLASH, debuted along US 29 between Briggs Chaney and Silver Spring, with peak-hour service continuing to Burtonsville. Peak-hour service was extended to Columbia in Howard County in September 2026. A FLASH route on Veirs Mill Road between Wheaton and Rockville is currently under construction. FLASH was the second BRT system to be launched in the DC region, after WMATA's Metroway in Virginia.

In July 2023, Ride On launched its official mobile app, Ride On Trip Planner, created in partnership with Moovit. The app provides trip planning tools and real-time arrival information for Ride On buses.

On December 27, 2023, a Ride On bus crashed into a house in Silver Spring around 7:30 PM. The driver reportedly lost control of the bus while entering a roundabout, hit a parked car, and collided with the side of the house. There were no passengers on the bus, and the house was not occupied at the time. It was later discovered that the same vehicle had previously crashed into a KFC restaurant in May 2011.

In September 2024, the first phase of the Great Seneca Transit Network was launched, with two new Ride On extRa Routes being added to serve the Life Sciences region and the Universities at Shady Grove. The Pink and Lime routes run frequent service all day and on weekends.^{[citation needed]}

On June 29, 2025, the agency launched the first phase of its "Ride On Reimagined" transit master plan. Most of the changes in this phase were made to complement WMATA's system-wide Better Bus Network Redesign, which took effect on the same day. It also eliminated all fares on all of its transit services beginning the same day, becoming the 4th operator in the DC region to go fare-free, after DASH, TheBus, and CUE Bus.

On February 2, 2026, Ride On launched its third Flex Zone route, serving areas near White Oak, Sandy Spring, and New Hampshire Avenue to cover areas previously served by the discontinued Metrobus route Z2.

On July 1, 2026, Ride On discontinued its original Flex zone route that served areas such as Rockville, Glenmont, and Wheaton, after a 7-year operation run that started on June 26, 2019, and ended on the day of July 1, 2026.

On September 8, 2026, Ride On extended its FLASH Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Blue route into Howard County, operating along US 29 and serving Burtonsville, Silver Spring and Downtown Columbia. The route only operates during peak hours, starting and ending service at Silver Spring station and Downtown Columbia, with its midpoint on the route being Burtonsville Park and Ride, and it also serves Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL).

Local service routes

Route Changes effective January 2027

Flash BRT & Ride On extRa networks

These high-frequency corridors utilize dedicated lanes and transit signal priority to bypass congestion.

Ride On extRa

Ride On extRa is a limited stop bus service to complement major local bus routes by following similar routing but making fewer stops to help speed up travel time.

Route 101 began service on October 2, 2017, complementing routes 46 and 55 along Maryland Route 355, serving 13 stops from Medical Center Metro station in Bethesda to Lakeforest Transit Center in Gaithersburg. The route operates every 10–20 minutes in both directions with service during weekday peak hours only.

The Great Seneca BRT Network began service on September 8, 2024 with the first phase consisting of two routes, Pink and Lime and with another two routes planned for the second phase. The Pink and Lime routes both start at the Shady Grove Metro station and end outside The Universities at Shady Grove campus, but follow different routing to provide service to the Great Seneca Life Sciences Complex and various neighborhoods and business districts in Gaithersburg. Both routes operate daily with varying service levels.

Ride On Flex

Ride On Flex is an on-demand bus service that began serving Montgomery County on June 26, 2019, and was effectively discontinued on July 1, 2026, that ran in and around Rockville, Glenmont, and Wheaton. It now only serves White Oak and Sandy Spring with its release in February, using 11-passenger cutaway buses. Passengers are able to request a bus using an app.

Flash BRT

Flash is a bus rapid transit network that began service on October 14, 2020. The first route operates between Silver Spring Metro station and Downtown Columbia along US Route 29. The second route operates between Silver Spring Metro station and Briggs Chaney Park and Ride along US Route 29. Future routes are in development throughout Montgomery County. Flash has dedicated bus stops and operates in a mix of traffic and dedicated lanes using articulated buses.