The Bethesda Circulator was formerly Ride On Route 92 and nicknamed the Bethesda 8 for its route (a funny looking figure eight) and its frequency of service (every 8 minutes), began service in September of 1999. Its mission was to take people from the Bethesda Metro and county operated parking garages to points in the Bethesda Central Business District. It ran between 7:30 AM and 7:30 PM on weekdays and no fare is collected. The route was originally operated by WMATA with Flxible Metro-Bs painted in the Ride On paint scheme with signs and flags for the Bethesda 8.

The operation of the route was later shifted to Ride On's Silver Spring Garage and the county took over the route's operation. Again, certain buses had Bethesda 8 signs and flags applied to the bus. Two Orion Vs ran the route until March 2001. The service was also adjusted to begin and end 30 minutes earlier.

Then, Montgomery County unveiled special trolleybuses for this service. The trolleys had wood finishes and seats, round light bulb globes to illuminate the interior, and an open air rear platform. This was done to attract more ridership to the route.

The county said once more trolleys arrive, weekend service would commence. Once weekend service began, the Behesda 8 ran at 8 minute intervals from 7:00 AM until midnight on weekdays, until 2 AM Friday nights (Saturday mornings), and from 6 PM until 2 AM on Saturdays (Sunday mornings). Service has also been provided for special events, such as the Taste of Bethesda.

During parts of 2002, the route was operated with the Orion Is and starting September 1, 2002, with ATE/Ryder cutaways. In early 2007, the operation of the route was transferred to the Bethesda Urban Partnership, which purchased new trolleys to operate on the route. Later, the second group of trolleys were replaced by more traditional buses. On January 4, 2016, the first change to the Bethesda Circulator's route since the route's original inception will take place, as the route is modified to include Battery Lane and Bradley Boulevard.