FTA Administrator Rogoff joins Maryland Officials to unveil clean new hybrid buses

Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff joined Maryland officials today to announce the addition of 13 new, energy-efficient hybrid buses to the Montgomery County Ride On service. The new buses will offer a clean, comfortable ride to more than 10,000 commuters, seniors, and others who take transit daily. The vehicles were purchased with $6.6 million through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

“For nearly three years now, the Recovery Act has lived up to its promise to strengthen and enhance transportation choices in Montgomery County and across the nation,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “This is one of the many investments we have made in our transportation infrastructure and our workforce to create new opportunities to put Americans back to work.”

With the addition of the 12 new hybrid electric-diesel buses and one clean-diesel bus, all built in the United States in compliance with the Buy America law, sustainable vehicles now make up nearly two-thirds of Montgomery County’s Ride On fleet, and bring the agency closer to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050.

“The thousands of riders in Montgomery County who depend on buses to get to work, to school, or medical appointments can take pride in knowing that these vehicles are stamped ‘Made in USA’” said FTA Administrator Rogoff. “These new buses showcase America’s ingenuity, innovation, and commitment to a greener energy future.”

Joining Rogoff at the event were Senator Ben Cardin, Congressman Chris Van Hollen, Congresswoman Donna Edwards, Maryland Transportation Secretary Beverley Swaim-Staley, Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett and others.

Montgomery County’s new Ride On buses were manufactured by Gillig LLC, the nation’s second largest transit bus manufacturer, based in Hayward, Calif. The buses meet the Recovery Act’s Buy America requirement, meaning all the iron, steel, and manufactured materials used in the buses are produced in the United States. The 13 new buses will be put into service on several of the county’s busiest routes in suburban Maryland.

Montgomery County’s Ride On bus service is one of the largest suburban-based transit systems in the country, carrying approximately 28 million riders a year, with connecting service to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s Metrobus and Metrorail systems.