DASH (bus)

For the Downtown Area Short Hop (DASH) bus service in Los Angeles, see Los Angeles Department of Transportation § DASH. For the Downtown Area Shuttle (DASH) bus service in Hartford, see Hartford, Connecticut § Transportation. For the Davidson Avenue Shuttle (DASH) bus service in New Jersey, see Somerset County, New Jersey § Transportation.

DASH is the public bus system for the city of Alexandria, Virginia. DASH provides bus service within the City of Alexandria, and connects with Metrobus, Metrorail, Virginia Railway Express, Amtrak and other local bus systems. DASH operates 124 buses on eleven routes^[7] carrying over five million passengers annually.^[8] DASH operates transit services within portions of the City of Alexandria and between the City and the Pentagon Transit Station. DASH serves all of the Alexandria Metrorail Stations and the Pentagon Metrorail station.

DASH

A 2021 New Flyer Xcelsior XE60 DASH bus at Van Dorn St Metro Station.
Parent	City of Alexandria
Founded	March 1984[1]
Headquarters	3000 Business Center Drive, Alexandria, VA
Service area	Alexandria, Virginia
Service type	Bus service
Alliance	WMATA
Routes	10 and the King Street Trolley[2]
Fleet	Gillig New Flyer Proterra[3][4]
Daily ridership	14,900 (Q1 2023)[5]
Annual ridership	4,209,500 (2015)[6]
Fuel type	Diesel, Diesel-electric Hybrid, Battery electric
Operator	Alexandria Transit Company
Website	dashbus.com

Old DASH sign on a lamppost on Duke St.

DASH is operated by the Alexandria Transit Company (ATC), a non-profit service corporation wholly owned by the City of Alexandria. ATC is governed by an eleven person board of directors elected by the city council.^[9] ATC's was formed to supplement the regional rail and bus service provided by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) and to provide a local bus service to the City of Alexandria.

History

In 1981, in anticipation of the opening of the Metrorail stations and the subsequent reordering of Metrobus service, the City Council authorized a feasibility study for a city-sponsored bus system. In 1982, the study recommended a five-route system, using 18 buses.

In 1983, the City Council developed an RFP (Request For Proposal) for management companies to develop a detailed plan for the operation of transit service in the City of Alexandria. The city chose to establish a non-profit public service cooperation that would be wholly owned by the City. This arrangement provided means by which:

• The transit system could be run as a business-type enterprise, and
• City Council could retain overall policy control yet be free from the day-to-day operation of a transit system.

On October 23, 1983, the City Council set up a Transitional Task Force and, on January 24, 1984, instructed the City Attorney to proceed with the incorporation of a non-profit company. The certificate of incorporation was issued by the State Corporation Commission on January 31, and the organizational meeting of the company was held on February 6.

In January 1984, the General Manager employed by the Management Company that was awarded the management contract reported for duty and final preparations began for the opening of revenue service on March 11.

On October 19, 2020, DASH unveiled its first all-electric transit bus at the City Hall of Alexandria.^[10]

In September 2021, the entire network was restructured as part of the Alexandra Transit Vision Plan to create a more useful and equitable bus network that encourages more people to get to more places using transit. All Routes were renumbered in either the 30s or 100s eliminating the AT designations.^[11]

Ridership

DASH carries over 12,000 passengers per weekday^[12] within the City of Alexandria, Virginia. The AT8 route, which runs through the Duke Street corridor, is DASH's busiest route with about 3,000 rides per weekday. In 2011, DASH ordered three new 40' Gillig Low Floor diesel-electric hybrid buses, which are 5' longer than the rest of the DASH fleet.^[13] These buses went into service in April 2012. Five additional 40' Gillig Low Floor diesel-electric hybrid buses went into service in March 2013. The new 40' buses are used on the AT8 route to reduce crowding. On July 28, 2014, DASH introduced the new AT9 Crosstown Route.^[14] The AT9 provides crosstown connections between Mark Center, Southern Towers, Northern Virginia Community College, Bradlee Shopping Center, Shirlington Transit Center in Arlington, Parkfairfax, Arlandria and Potomac Yard.

Fares

As of September 5, 2021^[update], DASH is fare free.^[15] Before the free fares, DASH's base fare was $2.00 for riders paying cash or SmarTrip.^[16][17] In 2007, DASH converted its buses to allow the use of the WMATA SmarTrip, an electronic debit farecard. DASH continued to accept and issue paper transfers until they were eliminated altogether January 1, 2013.^[18]

Fleet

Photo	Builder and model name	Model year	Length	Numbers (Total)	Vehicles in service	Fuel type	Notes
	Gillig Phantom 35'	2007	35 ft (10.67 m)[19]	101–102 (2 buses)	2	Diesel	Ex-PRTC OmniRide, acquired in 2019. These buses have suburban configuration and single doors. Originally numbered 701-702; renumbered in early 2020 due to a numbering conflict with new buses. Occasionally used as backup buses.[19]
	Motor Coach Industries D4500	2002	40 ft (12.19 m)	103–105 (3 buses)	3		Ex-PRTC OmniRide, acquired in 2019. Originally numbered 703-705; renumbered in early 2020 due to a numbering conflict with new buses. Occasionally used as charter bus service, sometimes as backup buses.
	Gillig Low Floor 35'	2011	35 ft (10.67 m)	200–206 (7 buses)	7	Diesel hybrid	First low floor buses for DASH.[13]
		2012		207–211 (5 buses)	3 retiring
		2014		212–216 (5 buses)	5
		2015		217–229 (13 buses)	13		225-229 are wrapped in West End livery in early 2020.[20][21]
		2017		230–233 (4 buses)	4		230-232 are wrapped in West End livery in early 2020.[20][21]
		2018		501–514 (14 buses)	14	Diesel
	Gillig Low Floor 40'	2011	40 ft (12.19 m)	300–302 (3 buses)	3	Diesel hybrid	First low floor buses for DASH.[13]
		2012		303–307 (5 buses)	4
		2014		308–309 (2 buses)	2
		2017		310–311 (2 buses)	2		These buses are wrapped in West End livery in early 2020.[20][21]
	Gillig Low Floor Trolley 29'^	2011	29 ft (8.839 m)	400–404 (5 trolley buses)	5		First low floor trolley buses for DASH.[13]
	Gillig Low Floor Trolley 35'^	2015	35 ft (10.67 m)	405 (1 trolley bus)	1
	New Flyer Xcelsior XD35	2019		515–527 (13 buses)	13	Diesel
		2020		528–530 (3 buses)	3
	New Flyer Xcelsior XD40		40 ft (12.19 m)	701–705 (5 buses)	5
	New Flyer Xcelsior CHARGE XE40			801–803 (3 buses)[22]	3	Battery electric	First all-electric transit buses for DASH.[23]
	New Flyer Xcelsior CHARGE NG XE60 articulated	2021	60 ft (18 m)	901–904 (4 buses)	4
	Proterra ZX5+		40 ft (12.19 m)	804–810 (7 buses)[22]	7
	New Flyer Xcelsior XD40	2023		706–715 (10 buses)[19]	9	Diesel	To replace some of the 2011-2012 Gillig Low Floor buses. 715 entered special service for DASH's 40th Anniversary, and has not entered revenue service at that time.

^operates under the King Street Trolley branding

On order

Builder and model name	Length	Year	Fleet number	Fuel type	Notes
TBA	60 ft (18 m)	2024–25	(2 buses)	Battery electric	To begin in FY25.[24]
	TBD	2025	(13 buses)		To begin in FY25. Funded by the FY23 FTA Bus and Low- and No-Emission Grant Awards.[25]
		2026	(10 buses)		Expected to begin in FY26.
			(8 buses)	Diesel

Retired fleet

Year	Builder and model name	Numbers (preserved numbers)	Year Retired	Picture	Notes
1984	Bus Industries of America Orion I (01.502)	1-17	2001
1986	Bus Industries of America Orion I (01.507)	18-19	2002
1990–91		20-33	2005		Bus #28 is preserved by Commonwealth Coach & Trolley of Roanoke, VA.
1996	Gillig Phantom 35'	34-43	2012
1998		44-53	2014
1999		54-58	2015
1999–2000	Orion Bus Industries Orion V (05.503)	59-68	2017		Bus #59 is preserved by Commonwealth Coach & Trolley of Roanoke, VA.
2002	DaimlerChrysler Commercial Buses Orion V (05.503)	69-76	2019–20
2004–05		77-90	2019–21
2007		91-99 (96)	2019–22		Last order of Orion buses for DASH.[26] 97 is preserved by Friends of the NJ Transportation Heritage Center
	Gillig Phantom 35'	100-103	2019		Last order of high floor buses for DASH.
2001–02	Neoplan USA AN460 (articulated)	601-614	2020–21		Ex-Westchester County Bee-Line, acquired in 2019. First non-WMATA-operated articulated buses in the Washington region.[27]

Routes

Route/Name	Terminals		Streets traveled	Service notes
30 Van Dorn Metro – S Whiting St – Duke St – King St Metro – Old Town Circulator – Braddock Rd Metro	Van Dorn Metro	Braddock Road Metro	Duke St S Van Dorn St	Some AM Eastbound peak trips begin at Edsall Rd & S Whiting St
	Landmark Mall Rdwy & Mall Entrance
31 NVCC – King St – King St Metro – Old Town Circulator – Braddock Rd Metro	NVCC-Alexandria	Braddock Road Metro	King St
		King Street Metro
32 Landmark – Van Dorn Metro – Eisenhower Ave – King St Metro	Landmark Mall Rdwy & Mall Entrance	King Street Metro	Eisenhower Ave S Pickett St Holmes Run Pkwy
33 King St Metro – Commonwealth Ave – Mt Vernon Ave – Potomac Yard Metro	Potomac Yard Metro	King Street Metro	Mount Vernon Ave	Began serving Potomac Yard Metro on May 19, 2023[28]
34 Lee Center – S Royal St – N Fairfax St – Potomac Yard Metro	Potomac Yard Metro	Lee Center	N Fairfax St S Royal St	Originally served Braddock Rd Metro until May 21, 2023[28]
35 Van Dorn Metro – Yoakum Pkwy – N Beauregard St – Pentagon Metro	Pentagon Metro	Van Dorn Metro	S Van Dorn St N Beauregard St Interstate 395	Some late night trips terminate/begin at Park Center
36 Mark Center – Menokin Dr/Park Place – Shirlington – W Glebe Rd – Potomac Yard Metro	Potomac Yard Metro	Mark Center Station	Seminary Rd Menokin Dr King St Valley Dr W Glebe Rd	Runs as 36A (via Menokin Dr/Martha Custis Dr) or 36B (via N Van Dorn St/Valley Dr) Began serving Potomac Yard Metro on May 19, 2023[28]
102 Mark Center – Seminary Rd – Janneys Ln – King St Metro	Mark Center Station	King Street Metro	Seminary Rd Janneys Ln	Weekday service only
103 Braddock Rd Metro – Russell Rd – W Glebe Rd – Pentagon Metro	Pentagon Metro	Braddock Road Metro	W Braddock Rd W Glebe Rd Interstate 395	Weekday peak hour service only
104 Braddock Rd Metro – Cameron Mills Rd – Parkfairfax – Pentagon Metro	Pentagon Metro	Braddock Road Metro	W Braddock Rd Cameron Mills Rd Interstate 395	Weekday peak hour service only
King Street Trolley	King Street Metro	Market Square	King St	Service to the Potomac River Waterfront was eliminated on July 5, 2021[29]

Former Routes

Route	Name	Terminals		Major streets	Notes
AT1 Plus	Seminary Plaza – Beauregard – Landmark Plaza – Van Dorn Metro	Van Dorn Metro	Seminary Plaza	Duke St N Beauregard St Seminary Rd	All routes were eliminated on September 5, 2021, replaced by new 30- and 100-series routes.[30]
AT2	Braddock Metro – Old Town – Mark Center – Lincolnia	Lincolnia	Braddock Road Metro	Seminary Rd King St
AT2X	Mark Center – King Street Metro Express	Mark Center Station	King Street Metro	Seminary Rd Duke St
AT3	Pentagon Metro – Parkfairfax – Old Town – Hunting Point	Hunting Point	Pentagon Metro	W Glebe Rd Russel Rd W Braddock Rd Pendleton St
AT4	Pentagon Metro – Parkfairfax – Old Town	City Hall via Old Town	Pentagon Metro	W Braddock Rd Madison St Montgomery St
AT3/4	Old Town – Parkfairfax Loop	City Hall via Old Town		Pendleton St W Braddock Rd Russel Rd W Glebe Rd
AT5	Braddock Metro – Old Town – Bradlee Shopping Center – Van Dorn Metro	Van Dorn Metro (weekdays) Eisenhower Ave Metro (weekends)	Braddock Road Metro	Van Dorn St King St
AT6	NVCC Alexandria – King Street Metro	NVCC Alexandria	King Street Metro	King St
AT7	Lee Center – King Street Metro – Van Dorn Metro – Landmark Mall	Landmark Mall Rdwy & Mall Entrance	Nannie J. Lee Center	Eisenhower Ave King St
AT8	Braddock Metro – Old Town – Landmark Mall – Van Dorn Metro	Van Dorn Metro	Braddock Road Metro	Duke St King St
AT9	Mark Center – Bradlee Shopping Center – Shirlington – Potomac Yard	Mark Center Station	Potomac Yard Shopping Center	Seminary Rd King St Glebe Rd
AT10	King Street Metro – Del Ray – Potomac Yard	King Street Metro	Potomac Yard Shopping Center	Commonwealth Ave Mount Vernon Ave
102X	Mark Center Express	Mark Center Station	King Street Metro	Seminary Rd Janneys Ln	Suspended as of December 1, 2021

References

1. "Alexandria Transit Development Plan" (PDF). City of Alexandria Virginia. January 1, 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
2. "DASH Schedules & Maps". January 1, 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
3. "FY 2023 – FY 2028 Alexandria Transit Company (DASH) Transit Development Plan" (PDF). Alexandria Transit Company. March 14, 2022. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
4. "Dash 35th Anniversary Celebration - Alexandria Living Magazine". Retrieved 4 March 2019.
5. "Transit Ridership Report March 2023" (PDF). Dash Bus. March 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 May 2023. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
6. "Transit Ridership Report Fourth Quarter 2015" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. March 2, 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-04-11. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
7. "FY2022 Transit Development Plan & New DASH Network". DashBus. 2022.
8. Miled, Vernon. "Alexandria bus network celebrating new ridership record with block party". ALXnow. Retrieved October 13, 2024.
9. "Board of Directors".
10. "DASH Unveils Two of its New Electric Buses - Alexandria Living Magazine". Retrieved 20 October 2020.
11. "The New DASH Network". www.dashbus.com.
12. "Transit Ridership Report First Quarter 2016" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. May 19, 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-09-17. Retrieved 2016-09-17.
13. "DASH To Preview New Hybrid Low-Floor Bus And Trolley » AlexandriaNews". 2015-09-19. Archived from the original on 19 September 2015. Retrieved 2022-06-02.
14. "DASH Announces New AT9 Crosstown Route in Alexandria". Port City Wire. July 22, 2014. Retrieved 2019-03-06.
15. "Fares | DASH". www.dashbus.com. Retrieved 2021-12-20.
16. "DASH Fares". Alexandria Transit Company. October 17, 2012. Retrieved 2016-07-17.
17. "DASH 2019 Fare Change". Alexandria Transit Company. October 17, 2012. Retrieved 2016-07-17.
18. "Important DASH Pass News!". Alexandria Transit Company. October 17, 2012. Archived from the original on August 7, 2016. Retrieved 2016-07-17.
19. "FY 2025 – FY 2034 Alexandria Transit Strategic Plan (ATSP)" (PDF). Alexandria Transit Company (DASH). May 1, 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 9, 2024. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
20. "DASH Buses Get New 'West End' Look to Promote Service Enhancements". ALXnow. 2020-01-08. Retrieved 2022-06-03.
21. "DASH Celebrates Enhancements on the AT1 PLUS – Welcome to Alexandria!". Retrieved 2022-10-11.
22. "Breaking News: DASH Adding Six Electric Buses to Fleet". Retrieved 3 January 2021.
23. "Alexandria Gets New Electric Buses — A First For Northern Virginia Transit". DCist. Archived from the original on 2022-09-14. Retrieved 2022-09-14.
24. "DASH Awarded I-395 Commuter Choice Funding – Welcome to Alexandria!". Retrieved 2023-10-08.
25. "FY23 FTA Bus and Low- and No-Emission Grant Awards".
26. "DASH Orion Bus to Make Final Trip on Friday, July 1". dashbus.com - DASH Alexandria Transit Company. 2022-06-28. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
27. Malouff, Dan. "DASH is running the first non-WMATA articulated buses in Washington area transit". Greater Greater Washington. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
28. "DASH to Connect to New Potomac Yard-VT Metrorail Station – Welcome to Alexandria!". Retrieved 2023-06-13.
29. "King Street Trolley service to return next Monday". ALXnow. 2021-06-29. Retrieved 2023-06-13.
30. "DASH to Launch New Bus Network, Go Fare-Free on Sept. 5". www.dashbus.com. Retrieved 7 October 2022.

External links

• Official site