County Ride On Bus Service Expands To Park Potomac

Ride On bus riders take note: Routes and bus number changes went into effect Sunday.

The changes mean some communities around Rockville will be better served, but also mean longer rides on some routes and the elimination of others as the county tries to better serve new locations.

Expanded routes include daily service to Park Potomac, Seven Locks Road, Interstate 270 and Montrose Road. The changes, effective Sunday, are part of a larger expansion of Ride On routes across the county.

Southwest of Rockville's city limits, a new route, Route 42, will run between the White Flint Metro station and Westfield Montgomery, with service to the Park Potomac mixed-use development at Seven Locks and Montrose roads.

Route 47 also now follows its normal route, but diverts off Seven Locks Road to serve Park Potomac.

Northeast of the city limits, a new Route 53 will serve the new Intercounty Connector Park and Ride lot on Georgia Avenue. The route will no longer make stops on Bowie Mill, Muncaster Mill and Redland roads from Olney to Shady Grove in the afternoon. (Those stops will be served in that direction in the morning and in the opposite direction, from Shady Grove to Olney in the afternoon.)

Click here to view a complete list of Ride On routes and schedules.

The changes were made after the county's Division of Transit Services considered public input and held a Sept. 27 public forum in Rockville.

While Ride On expands into Park Potomac, renovations to a private parking garage will mean the temporary closure of the bus bay at the Bethesda Metro station this year, Bethesda Patch reports. The closure will require the relocation of bus stops. Read more here.