Recommended changes to the Ride On Bus program for the Western County
1. Bus service should be extended to Saturdays and throughout the day during the week. Service already extends all day and during weekdays from Quince Orchard down to Shady Grove metro.
2. The existing Number 76 bus that serves students going to Poolesville High School and back home works well. We do not want the service to be interrupted in making these recommendations.
3. Running the number 76 bus or a second bus so that it is routed along the Germantown / Route 118 corridor to connect with other buses at the bus terminal in Germantown would make it possible for riders to catch a transfer bus to other locations. One such bus is the Pink Route bus that operates on a rapid turnover basis, with buses every 10 minutes during the week. The bus travels along Shady Grove Road ending at the Metro. To make it work, however, it should terminate at its northern end at the Germantown Bus Depot. These changes would make it more feasible for Western County patients who need to get to doctors, specialists, or medical facilities located in Germantown and along Shady Grove Road to make their appointments.
4. Montgomery County runs a“ near on-demand transit” service that helps people get around in defined areas. Right now, only two areas are included in the program— Rockville and Glenmont / Wheaton. Ride On Flex Zone buses have no fixed stops or fixed schedules; they come when a customer books a ride during regular service hours. The service only takes residents to appointments within the flex zone, and the fare is only the standard Ride On fare— no more than $ 1.00.
5. The flex zones for the three areas now included are in populated settings so large numbers of people are able to take advantage of the initiative. It is designed to help people get around to locations within the defined zones. Since the Western County has large areas of land with sparse numbers of people, the concept needs to be applied in a way that fits the setting. We call it“ Reverse Flex” and it can be used to create a large flex zone to collect people throughout the Western County so they can be taken to Poolesville for transport to down county locations.
Western Montgomery County. Approximately 1,600 aging adults over 65 live in Western Montgomery County. In terms of poverty, the statistics are hard to compile from the Census data. However, the county has created what it calls an“ Equity Focus Map.” That map shows that in the Census tract that encompasses the Dickerson and Barnesville zip codes, 28 percent of the households are considered“ low income.” In the Census tract that encompasses the Poolesville zip code, more than 17 percent of households are considered low income.
Today, the Western County has only three General Practitioners and no specialists of any kind within ten or more miles of the 10,000 people who live in the area. WUMCO Help, the local charitable services organization serving the Western County, operates a volunteer driving program to help clients get to doctors’ appointments. Last year, their volunteers drove a total of 170 hours, taking 89 clients to medical appointments and driving 2,245 miles. The WUMCO experience suggests that it is likely that a significant number of older citizens in the Ag Reserve live alone, are chronically ill, have mental health illnesses, and / or cannot drive— either because they cannot afford a car, or their medical condition prohibits it.
Montgomery County’ s Department of Transportation’ s Ride On bus system conducted a series of meetings over the last couple of years called“ Ride On Reimagined”. The purpose of the effort was to reconsider existing bus routes to see if they could be changed to better serve local residents. Fair Access participated in the program and offered a wide range of proposals to address the various shortcomings. While the process was welcome, we are not sure funding will become available within the next several years to support many of the changes we think would help ensure our citizens are treated more equitably.
Changes should be made by the County’ s Ride On Bus system to address the inequities that have persisted so long in the Western County. Adopting these changes would help many in the Western County live healthier, more connected lives. We’ ve worked with Ride On to develop these proposals and look forward to a time of improved bus service for our residents.
LInk Hoewing is the Chair of the Fair Access Committee, a committee of the Town of Poolesville and local citizens created in 2018 to fight for equity in county programming, services and facilities made available to our residents.
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