A “Smart Growth Initiative” Project; Names Facility for David F. Bone, Planner and Original Architect of Ride On and Announces 40 New Ride On Buses
Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett celebrated the opening of the new David F. Bone Equipment Maintenance and Transit Operations Center (EMTOC) in Rockville, another of his Smart Growth Initiative (SGI) projects that is revitalizing an old industrial area by creating an urban village near the Shady Grove Metro Station.The David F. Bone EMTOC is a collection of 12 buildings serving the Department of Transportation’s divisions of Transit Services and Highway Services and the Department of General Services’ Division of Fleet Management. The overall project is designed to achieve a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certification by incorporating innovative features, including reclaiming water for bus washing and toilet flushing, four acres of green roofs and solar panels.
Leggett also announced that the Department of General Services Division of Fleet Management Services has added 40 new, clean diesel buses to the Ride On fleet. This is the largest number of buses purchased at one time since 2009. With this most recent acquisition, more than 75 percent of the Ride On fleet is comprised of clean diesel, hybrid electric-diesel or compressed natural gas buses.
EMTOC is named for the late David F. Bone, Ride On’s senior planner from its creation in 1973 until 2000. He was the chief architect of Ride On’s service philosophy, route design and structure, creating the concept of Ride On as a neighborhood feeder system to Metrorail and Metrobus. Bone was involved in every aspect of Ride On, including attending all public hearings, participating in union negotiations, developing strategic plans and creating transit centers, such as those at Lakeforest and Montgomery malls and the Germantown Transit Center. Bone died in 2009.
More information is available on the County’s website.
