Montgomery County will need to reduce transit lines as a result of budget reductions that occurred last month. As reported by the Washington Post,

A savings plan approved last month by the Montgomery County Council includes about $4 million in cuts to transportation programs, nearly half of which will come from the Ride On transit system. The transit agency will eliminate service on three bus routes that cover neighborhoods in Rockville and Germantown and it will cancel the launch of a new route this fall to Tobytown, a community of about 60 residents off River Road in Potomac.

As reported previously on Conduit Street, the Montgomery County Council approved cutting the fiscal 2016 budget by $54 million following its previous final approval in May to offset lower than expected revenues and significant income tax refunds that will need to be paid as a result of a recent Supreme Court ruling. More reductions could come later in the year as a result of declining revenue.

The transportation department cuts also impact spending on resurfacing and patching of roads, a quality assurance program for Ride On, and Capital Bikeshare initiatives such as free helmets for new bike riders and membership surveys.  The county also will eliminate an airplane surveillance program that it uses to track traffic patterns and incidents during rush hour and that helps coordinate emergency response efforts.