As Montgomery County students head back to school, yellow school buses aren’t their only means of getting to school on time. All Montgomery County residents 18 years old and younger can ride free on all MCDOT and most Metrobuses within the County with a Youth Cruiser card. The County also offers free rides to seniors and persons with disabilities and all Montgomery College students who are currently enrolled.
The Youth Cruiser card is a SmarTrip card that allows kids to ride for free all the time on Ride On buses, including Ride On extRa, Ride On Flex and Flash. Children under 5 must be accompanied by an adult.
Students should get a Youth Cruiser SmarTrip card to ride for free. Youth Cruiser Cards are easy to get, just complete the application form from your school’s administrative office or go to https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/DOT-Transit/fares/youth-cruiser.html. Download and fill out the form and bring it to the designated office at your school. Get your card on the spot!
Montgomery County is also committed to providing mobility to seniors and persons with disabilities. Riders over 65 and persons with disabilities can also ride for free all day every day. To ride, they just need to show the bus operator their Senior, Reduced Fare or Metro Access SmarTrip card and then tap it on the farebox. Additionally, students enrolled at Montgomery College can ride at no cost. They just need to show an ID sticker valid for the current session. Students can obtain an ID and current sticker at Public Safety on any campus to ride the bus for free. Regular fares have been reduced to $1 from $2 post-pandemic and a Ride On monthly pass costs $22.50 per month.
In addition, Ride On was recently ranked as the largest transit agency between DC and Atlanta. Based on data from the Public Transportation Ridership Report, this summer showed Ride On ridership to be over 55,000 trips per average weekday. This statistic places Ride On with the third highest ridership in DC, Maryland, and Virginia, behind WMATA and the Baltimore MTA. Aside from Atlanta, Ride On has a larger ridership than any agency in the Carolinas and Georgia, beating out Charlotte and Raleigh. As one of the larger local agencies both regionally and nationally, Ride On is not only focused on growth in ridership but also in greater fare equity, excellent customer service, safe and reliable service delivery for riders.
Visit RideOnBus.com for more information.
