Gillig Phantom 5409

Location: Montgomery Mall, Bethesda, MD
Operator of Vehicle: Ride On Montgomery County Transit
Date of Photo: July 1, 2003

Eagle eyed observers will notice this is the second Ride On Bus Photo of the Month in as many months, but Ride On is marking a significant milestone right now and therefore it seems worthy of a “repeat” feature.  This month, Ride On is hosting an event to celebrate its 50th anniversary.  The service began in March of 1975 with just two routes serving Silver Spring and Takoma Park.  Ridership almost immediately exceeded projections.  Since then, Ride On has grown to a system of over 80 routes and approximately 350 buses.  

In 2000 to mark its 25th anniversary, Ride On painted two buses silver and anyone who happened to catch one of those buses only had to pay 25 cents to ride instead of the standard fare.  Even after the 25th anniversary promotion ended, the buses would keep their celebratory paint schemes until their retirement.  Ride On would also decorate buses for its 40th anniversary, but there was no special fare promotion associated with them.  

For more photos of the Ride On Gillig Phantoms, please click here.