Why does Ride On operate the L8, T2, and Z2 metrobus routes on weekends?

[Scrabbleship]

Primary elections are merely a formality. But to bring this back on topic before it gets moved, have the people of PG ever wondered why they have such abysmal transit and have they ever lobbied for change? Seeing how DUH BUS was formed long after the other county/city bus systems and how PG has always mal-funded their share of WMATA service, I think the people--even the transit-dependent--just don't care.

The people of PG are to blame for their poor transit service just as much as Jack and company.

[Tristan]

The people there...don't see the value of the political process.  If you want to go into a socioeconomic lesson, I'll get into it, but these are people who by and large feel that their vote and their word does not matter.  To blame them for that when you hear on TV seemingly every day now that this election is indispute and that election is being reviewed, is that really fair?

[WayneNYC]

Tristan makes a good point.  The people really do need to go out and start voting.  In my mind it's a crying shame that Jack Johnson was re-elected.  I also think it's nearly criminal that so much of PG county is lacking in adequate transit services (and probably other services). 

Part of the issue is that many people actually believe that the lack of weekend service and lengthy service intervals on WMATA routes is WMATA's fault. 

[Scrabbleship]

Tristan makes a good point.  The people really do need to go out and start voting.

Only thing is entrenched machine politics and generations having voted a party line might not make voting the best move. End up in a situation like that and you have people like Jack Johnson getting reelected (when is he up for his next election) because people who vote don't know better.

Deal is where were the change minded candidates in the primaries? Coming from a basically one-party state (where my former congressman has run unopposed the last several elections because nobody dares run against him and lose), there has to be some viable Democratic rivals since a change-minded Republican has no chance with so much of PG being multi-generational Democrat with no want or motivation to change.

[WayneNYC]

Not sure PG necessarily needs someone in another party to challenge Johnson.  I think if the residents (mainly the have-nots, but others too) made it known that their unhappy and willing to show it by voting for another candidate, I'd bet that Jack would try to fly right.  I forget the guy's name who ran against Jack Johnson the last time, but in my mind, they should elected him, simply on the strength that Jack has done very little for the residents.  Politicians act when they know their constituents are serious and will vote against them.  I'm sure Jack Johnson is no different.   

[WES]

PG has term limits so this is the last term.

[Tristan]

OH THANK GOD THERE IS HOPE AFTER ALL!

[WES]

Not sure PG necessarily needs someone in another party to challenge Johnson.  I think if the residents (mainly the have-nots, but others too) made it known that their unhappy and willing to show it by voting for another candidate, I'd bet that Jack would try to fly right.  I forget the guy's name who ran against Jack Johnson the last time, but in my mind, they should elected him, simply on the strength that Jack has done very little for the residents.  Politicians act when they know their constituents are serious and will vote against them.  I'm sure Jack Johnson is no different.  

The guy's name was Rashern Baker who ran against Jack Johnson when he ran the first time.  The reason why Jack won the first time was most likely due to the fact that he was the person who went after PG Police and people around in PG liked that, so hence he got elected.

Now the ONLY reason why Jack got elected for a second term was that Rashern Baker did nothing about create negative ads about Johnson, which turned alot of voters off.  You can go negative oh so long before you turn people off to your campaign.  From the start Baker had negative ads.  Johnson chose, at the beginning to tout his accomplishments (granted most were on the development side-go figure), then at the end go negative.  But as the election showed Johnson didn't win by that much and if Baker had a balance of ads touting how he was going to change the county and not go negative from the get-go he most likely would have won, probably by a landslide.

Sometimes going negative could make voters negative towards you.

[DCT S9Z4Z6]

Here's a list of routes we operated at one point. Most of the routes have been operated by Ride On since 1992-1993.

C8 is pretty much what the 26 is today.
L8 only on weekends now.
N8 the old N8 is part of what today's 29 is.
Q4 today's 48.
T2 only on weekends now.
Y6 today's 41 but use to go all the way to Silver Spring
Z2 only on Saturdays now.

There are plenty more routes that I can list that Ride On has taken over from WMATA over the years.

Actually. . .
The 42 & the 46 Ride-On routes were part of the old DC transit/METRObus T-6
The 35 Was once the C-2
The 38 was part of the Q-8
The 41 was once the Y-6
The 29 was once the N-8 from Friendship Hgts as far as Glen Echo
The current Ride-On 10, was once the C-4 (as far as Twinbrook)

Ride-On also operated the Y6 on weekends from Wheaton to Aspen Hill
(I know, I operated this line for Ride-On for 2 picks on Saturdays)

The way the former head of Transportation Gordon Ayagoi explained it at the time(before he became the fire dept cheif big wig) was:

Ride-On can operate these routes (L8,N8,Y6,T2,Z2) just as efficently as WMATA can, on the weekends, with a lower cost per mile. Its our plans (Ride-On) to operate all but the major trunk lines (Im Guessing C,J2,Q2,Y8,Z lines) by the turn of the century.

Was a nice theroy. At the time.

[rideonrulez]

The current Ride-On 10, was once the C-4 (as far as Twinbrook)

Correction, It was the WMATA route C6 which before that was the Z4. 

[DCT S9Z4Z6]

The current Ride-On 10, was once the C-4 (as far as Twinbrook)

Correction, It was the WMATA route C6 which before that was the Z4.

Correction AGAIN my Friend. . . .
In the mid 1970's, im thinking that it was Sept 1974. Yeah 1974. My real dad had just passed away, the C-2 Wheaton to Montgomery Mall AND the C-4 White Oak to Montgomery College started service the same time. Western had the C2 & Northern had the C4

It became the C6/Z4 once Monkey county decided to end the route at Twinbrook, instead of duplicate service of the C4. .  I mean C6/Z4 & the T6 on Rockville Pike.

I spent MANY MANY Sundays & Some Saturdays riding my Uncle Max's route C4, From White Oak to Montgomery College.

[Tritransit Area]

The current Ride-On 10, was once the C-4 (as far as Twinbrook)

Correction, It was the WMATA route C6 which before that was the Z4. 

Before the C6/Z4 (how did that work?) was officially taken over, did Ride-On operate Saturday service for one of these routes?  I distinctly remember that not long before the 10 was created, Ride-On's contractor (whoever it was at the time) used to use the Ford buses on the line.

Also, Ride-On is still doing the T2/L8/Z2 weekend service?  I thought that service was eliminated with the current budget constraints.

[Scrabbleship]

Also, Ride-On is still doing the T2/L8/Z2 weekend service?  I thought that service was eliminated with the current budget constraints.

Ride On is still doing the weekend L8/T2/Z2 service, one of the first things they retracted from was eliminating that those routes are the only transit for much of their routes.


Ironically, since Metro realigned the service patterns of the Z routes, the Z2 now doesn't have weekday midday service but does have Saturday midday service!

[rideonrulez]

The current Ride-On 10, was once the C-4 (as far as Twinbrook)

Correction, It was the WMATA route C6 which before that was the Z4.

Correction AGAIN my Friend. . . .
In the mid 1970's, im thinking that it was Sept 1974. Yeah 1974. My real dad had just passed away, the C-2 Wheaton to Montgomery Mall AND the C-4 White Oak to Montgomery College started service the same time. Western had the C2 & Northern had the C4

It became the C6/Z4 once Monkey county decided to end the route at Twinbrook, instead of duplicate service of the C4. .  I mean C6/Z4 & the T6 on Rockville Pike.

I spent MANY MANY Sundays & Some Saturdays riding my Uncle Max's route C4, From White Oak to Montgomery College.

Well that was before my time so I would'nt have known that. But thanks for the info. I have a bunch of WMATA schedules from the mid-70's that are quite interesting that I will scan one of these days...

[Perry]

The C6 came about after Wheaton Station opened up I believe.  For some reason I vaguely remember a really crazy routing for the Z4 and I want to say it went to Wheaton for a little bit if I'm not mistaken.  I may be completely off because that was 20 years ago (YIKES).  The C6 ran from White Oak to Montgomery College via Twinbrook and Rockville Stations.  Z4 still went to Silver Spring and White Oak, but on a really conviluted routing. 

I would take the C2 from Riggs and Drexel to Wheaton since it turned back there rather than continuing to Twinbrook, then I'd hop a Q1 to Rockville to avoid the crowds on the Q2 to be adventurous or take the Q2 straight to MC Rockville if I was daring, or if a MAN artic showed up that would have the capacity to not be packed.  When I was taking it to Twinbrook, I'd catch either the Z4 (before they changed the routes) or the T6, but the T6 took the scenic route to MC rather than straight up Hungerford/Frederick.  You'd get everything on those routes, Fishbowl, Flx New Look, usually RTS, sometimes a Flx Metro and one strange time a MAN artic rolled up.