Ride-On

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.

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.

2000s

In 2000, Ride On buses were painted in a special livery to commemorate Ride On's 25th anniversary.^[6]

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.^[7][8]

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.^[9]

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.^[10][11][12]

Ride On celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2015 with certain buses wrapped in the transit agency's 40th anniversary livery.^[13]

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.

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.^[14] The first buses entered service in 2019.

2020s

In March 2020, Ride On significantly altered bus service in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[15] Many routes were suspended with other routes having significantly reduced service.^[16] Fare collection was also suspended until July 2022.^[17]

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. FLASH was the second BRT system to be launched in the DC Region, after WMATA's Metroway in Virginia.^[18]

In July 2023, Ride On launched their 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.^[19]

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.^[20][21] It was later discovered that the same vehicle had previously been involved in the aforementioned KFC incident in May 2011.^[22]

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 weekend services.

Ride On celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2025 with multiple buses featuring a special 50th anniversary wrap.^[23]

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.^[24]

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.^[25]

Local Service Routes

Flash BRT & Ride-On Extra Network

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.^[29]

Route 101 began service on October 2, 2017, complementing routes 55 and 46 along Maryland Route 355, serving 13 stops from Medical Center 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.^[30]

The Great Seneca Transit BRT Network began service on September 8, 2024, with the first phase consisting of two routes, Pink and Lime, with another two routes planned for the second phase. The Pink and Lime routes both start at Shady Grove 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.^[31]

Ride On Flex

Ride On Flex is an on-demand bus service that began serving Montgomery County on June 26, 2019, and runs in and around Rockville, Glenmont, Wheaton, and also White Oak, Sandy Spring as of February 2026. using 11-passenger cutaway buses.^[32][33] Passengers are able to request a bus using an app. The system accepts the same payment methods as regular fixed-route buses with no onboard fare payments allowed.^[34]

Flash BRT

Flash is a bus rapid transit network that began service on October 14, 2020.^[35][36][37] The first route operates between Silver Spring Metro station and Burtonsville Park & Ride along US Route 29^[38] (route is planned to get extended to the mall at Columbia Transit Center^[39]). 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.^[39][38][40] Flash has dedicated bus stops with prepayment machines and operates in a mix of traffic and dedicated lanes using articulated buses.^[41]

Active fleet

Image	Delivered	Make/Model	Fleet Numbers	Notes
	2008-2013	Gillig Low-Floor 40 ft	5726-5770	The final buses delivered in the 2nd gen blue and white livery, and the first to feature the 3rd gen scheme. Some are retired. Some are used for Flash BRT routes.
	2009-2021	Gillig Low-Floor 29 ft	5007-5091 42000D-42039D	One was retired after crashing into a house in Silver Spring in 2023. It was previously involved in another accident in 2011 where it crashed into a KFC in Glenmont.[46][20][21] Most units were repainted into the current (4th gen) livery.
	2016-2020	Gillig Low-Floor 40 ft	44000D-44039D 44073D-44080D 44142D-44153D
	2014-2019	Gillig Low-Floor 40 ft CNG	5837-5855 44040C-44055C 44081C-44141C	Only orders of CNG buses for Ride-On. Newer buses use the 4th gen livery.
	2017	Gillig BRT Plus 40 ft	44056D-44072D	All units use the Ride On extRa livery.
	2019-2020	NovaBus LFS (A) Articulated	46000D-46015D	Used for the FLASH BRT service. Third operator of articulated buses in the DMV after WMATA and DASH.[47]
	2022-2026	Gillig Low-Floor Plus 40 ft EV	44154E-44265E	First 40 ft electric buses for the agency. Some are used for Ride On extRa and FLASH BRT routes. Numerous in service with units currently being delivered.
	2026-2028	New Flyer Xcelsior Charge 60FC	46016H-46028H	46016H delivered, unknown if other deliveries have occurred To be used on the FLASH BRT routes

Cutaway vehicles

Image	Year	Vehicle Model	Fleet Numbers	Notes
	2016	Ford E-450/Starcraft Allstar	59-61	Route 301 only
	2019	Ford Transit 350HD/Starcraft Starlite	1000D-1006D	Used for Flex services Operated by an external contractor

Retired fleet

Delivered	Make	Model	Retired	Image	Notes
1979–1981	Transportation Manufacturing Corporation	T-30 CityCruiser 30 ft	1998
1984–1992	Orion Bus Industries	Orion I	2010		One was used to transport Montgomery County first responders to The Pentagon to assist in search and rescue operations after the attacks on September 11, 2001.
1988–1999	Gillig	Phantom	2015
1993	Flxible	Metro D	2008
1993–2002	Orion Bus Industries	Orion V	2017
1995	Orion Bus Industries	Orion VI CNG	2005
2003–2005	Orion Bus Industries	Orion VII CNG	2019
2005	New Flyer Industries	C40LF	2020		First New Flyer buses ever ordered by Ride On.
2006–2012	Gillig	Low Floor 40 ft HEV	2020-2026		First Gillig Low-Floors in the fleet. Final units in service were retired in May 2026.
2008	Gillig	Low Floor 30 ft	2020-2021		The first and final 30-foot Gillig Low-Floor buses delivered in the 2nd gen blue and white livery for Ride On.
2019	Proterra	Proterra Catalyst BE-35	2025		First Electric buses for Ride On. Final units in service were retired in September 2025.