Montgomery County would suspend free bus rides for seniors, the disabled and county students under new cost-saving proposals by County Council staff.
Proposed increases in Montgomery County bus and parking fees:
Suspend free bus rides for seniors, the disabled and county government employees.
Suspend Kids Ride Free Program for students during weekday afternoons.
Increase two-person carpool permit in Bethesda from $70 to $100 a month.
Raise fine for parking recreational vehicles on public streets from $50 to $75.
The council’s staff also is proposing big increases for parking fees in Bethesda’s business district, including increasing the cost of a monthly “parking convenience sticker,” which allow drivers to park in the area without having to pay hourly fees, from $95 to $140.
The cuts are scheduled to be presented to the County Council today and come on the heels of recent proposed cuts in the county’s Ride On bus routes and service by County Executive Ike Leggett.
County Council President Phil Andrews said no council member had endorsed any of the staff’s proposed cuts, but added that the proposals signal that the council is looking at “a wide range of options” to bridge a more than $500 million budget gap that may grow wider with cuts in state aid to local government.
The staff recommendations would suspend free rides on Metrobus and Ride On for seniors and the disabled for fiscal 2010, instead charging those riders 60 cents. Also, students would not be able to ride for free on weekday afternoons but still would be able to purchase a $10 monthly pass for unlimited rides.
A County Council spokesman said its staff is calculating the fiscal effect of the proposals.
Councilwoman Valerie Ervin, D-Silver Spring, said free rides were essential to many of her constituents and said she would oppose the proposed changes. She added that if the council approved reinstating some of the fees it had worked to eliminate in recent years, it would be sending a contradictory message about public transit.
“On the one hand we’re encouraging it; on the other hand we’re saying, ‘Well, we didn’t really mean it,’ ” Ervin said. The council’s staff also recommends raising the parking rate in Bethesda for commuters who carpool.
Additionally, hourly rates for some short-term and long-term spaces would rise 25 cents an hour.
