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Fare increases for three Ride On bus routes are set to go into effect today, but some upcounty riders say they were denied the opportunity to have their say.

Fare for the Route 70 express bus from Germantown to Bethesda will go from the regular fare of $1.35 in cash or $1.25 with a SmarTrip card to $3.10 in cash or $3 with a SmarTrip card, the same price Metrobus began charging for its J7 and J9 express routes Sunday. Routes 93 in Rockville and 96 in Rockville and Bethesda increased from 35 cents to the regular fare.

A public hearing was held April 21 on a slate of proposed changes to Ride On services, including eliminating or cutting back on some routes. The three fare increases were recommended by County Executive Isiah Leggett in his operating budget adjustments on April 20 and announced during the public hearing.

"We've just been severely undercharging [on Route 70] for the amount of service involved," Council spokesman Neil Greenberger said. The fare increase brought the price of the express bus, which only makes two stops, in line with what is now charged on Metrobus' express routes. Express route 100 between Germantown and the Shady Grove Metro station was unaffected.

The public hearing record was kept open an extra three days because the fare hikes were announced late, Greenberger said. But Route 70 passengers said they only recently learned that changes affecting their bus were ever on the table.

"They didn't tell us, they didn't even announce to us that they were thinking about it. We weren't given the chance to comment," regular rider Steve Howie of Boyds said. Howie said he learned his fare would more than double last week from another passenger.

"I'm livid. I ride the bus every day and no one knew," said William Brechka of Montgomery Village, who also heard about the hikes last week. "…You're talking about an extra $90 out of your pocket every month [for riders who take the bus to and from work on weekdays]."

The service changes, including the three fare increases, were discussed at two committee worksessions and at a Council worksession before they were approved May 13. A committee statement released in late April summarizing the proposed transit changes did not mention the three routes.

"Usually if you're talking transit fares, everything's on the table," said Councilman Michael J. Knapp (D-Dist. 2) of Germantown, adding that he was concerned not enough was done to let riders know higher prices were coming. The county announced that fares would increase in a statement less than a week before they were scheduled to start. "Given what we did this year [with the budget], if there weren't fare increases, we'd be cutting service."

The burden should not be on residents to attend public hearings on the chance that something impacting them is brought up, Howie said.

"We're not going to go out of curiosity or defensiveness every time in case something affects us," Howie said. "…Even if it's a great idea, I think the people up here need to be heard from. This is a pretty major increase, and for some people it may have the effect of a discontinuation."