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Officials review plan to make Ride On buses fare-free; county staff say net fiscal savings possible over six years
Summary
Montgomery County staff outlined fiscal impacts of a proposal in the executive's FY26 budget to eliminate Ride On fares, projecting a $4.4 million net positive for the mass transit fund over fiscal years 2026'30 while noting lost fare revenue and other trade-offs.
Montgomery County officials discussed the executive's proposal to make Ride On bus service fare-free and the budgetary consequences during a briefing on the Mass Transit Fund.
MCDOT staff told the County Council the proposal would eliminate Ride On fare revenue (estimated at $1.5 million in FY25) and some related fare programs while cutting fare-collection costs and creating capital savings that could reduce the county's mass transit property tax rate.
The issue matters because the fiscal trade-offs affect the Mass Transit Fund and the county's ability to fund capital projects. "Which is, eliminating ride on fares, so making ride on fare free for riders," a Montgomery County Department of Transportation staff member said, describing the proposal and why several fare-related line items in the staff report would be removed. The staff report examines only fiscal impacts; other policy issues such as equity and climate were described as outside the scope of that analysis.
Staff outlined the main budget figures: projected fare revenue loss of about…
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