Can't take the Red Line over Labor Day weekend? Don't necessarily count on the Ride On bus. (Photo: Jay Westcott)

If you plan to travel in East Montgomery County over Labor Day weekend, Dave Jamieson has already warned you that Metro may not be the best way. Five Red Line stations — Glenmont, Wheaton, Forest Glen, Silver Spring, and Takoma — will all be closed for maintenance projects and track replacement work. The temporary closures are for good reason: to come into compliance with some recommendations made by the National Transportation Safety Board. Everyone loves safety.

But not everyone loves budget cuts, which is the reason behind another set of transportation closures in the same area that will take effect during Labor Day weekend. And these changes are permanent, so get used to them.

Starting Sept. 5, some Ride On bus routes will have a shift in times, others won’t come as frequently, but some Saturday routes will be cut altogether. The eliminated routes include: Wheaton-Kensington route 7, Silver Spring-Hillandale route 22, Bethesda-Naval Ship route 32, Glenmont-Bethesda via Medical Center route 33, and Shady Grove-Traville Transit Center-Fallsgrove Center route 43. The complete list of changes can be seen here.

Why the cuts? In case you don’t use toilets in public parks, or need lights in civic buildings, or have kids in school, you may not know that Montgomery County is in a bit of a budget crunch. The county is about $1 billion in the hole and next up on the chopping block is Ride On bus service.

The original budget proposal included a 7.5 percent cut of all Ride On bus service. Residents spoke up during a Feb. 1 public forum, and the final budget went down to just a 2.3 percent cut in service.

Saturday bus riders will still have a way to get between, say, the Wheaton and Forest Glen Metro stations, but the ride will just take longer. So plan accordingly.