Fare-Free DASH Bus Draws More Ridership, Few Concerns: Report

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Ridership has grown on Alexandria's DASH Bus system, although riders and drivers have brought up a few concerns, according to a new report.

The Alexandria Transit Company released a report on the first year of fare-free bus service. In September 2021, DASH made changes to bus service, including introducing free fares, new routes, and improved frequency. The fare-free initiative was initially funded by $1.5 million in City Council's approved city budget for fiscal year 2022. The city then received a $7.2 million grant from the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transit, which requires DASH to continue fare-free service until September 2025 and a local funding match.

According to the report on fare-free service, ridership has more than doubled from August 2021 to August 2022. Ridership dropped during the pandemic from over 3.7 million in fiscal year 2019 to over 2.8 million in fiscal year 2020 and over 1.5 million in fiscal year 2021. At over 3 million in fiscal year 2022, it hasn't quite recovered to the 2019 number. However, DASH projects it will reach 4 million in fiscal year 2023 for the first time since fiscal year 2016.

The highest ridership month was September 2022, when DASH had over 380,000 people board. It was the highest monthly number since 2015.

"Not in over seven years have we seen this magnitude of ridership increases, all while the Federal Workforce remains in a primarily hybrid/remote work environment," said DASH CEO and General Manager Josh Baker in a statement.

The largest change in ridership was observed during middays, evenings and weekends. Average weekday boardings rose from 6,247 in August 2021 to 13,574 in August 2022. Average Saturday boardings increased from 4,368 to 9,495, and Sunday boardings increased from 3,336 to 7,132.

One remaining challenge with ridership is collection of data. Because riders are no longer paying fares, drivers must manually press a button to count riders boarding. DASH is adding automated passenger counters and expects to have them ready in mid-2023.

Rider feedback has shown mostly positive responses to the fare-free service. A total of 71 percent of surveyed riders and 80 percent of surveyed low-income riders said they rode DASH more frequently because it is free. The survey found 22 percent of current riders who were surveyed did not ride DASH before it became fare free.

One concern noted by some riders has been overcrowding, particularly on lines serving more high school students. DASH said this affected Lines 31, 35 and 36 and has been addressed by adding longer buses to the busiest trips and adding unscheduled trips.

Driver feedback has overall been positive, but one trending concern since starting free fares has been customer interactions. DASH noted in its report that incidents involving unruly, intoxicated or disruptive riders has increased in the months since free fares were started. However, DASH noted the data relates to the ridership increase, and 89 percent of drivers said most rider interactions were positive.

On the financial side, DASH said fares were previously the highest revenue source, contributing $4 million annually in pre-pandemic years. The change had some cost savings, such as a $50,000 contract for cash collection services and $8,000 for the DASH Bus app for mobile ticketing. A major capital project that could have cost at least $5 million to upgrade fare boxes was canceled.

"We are immensely proud of the success of this program, one that is only possible due to the support of the Alexandria City Council and the Commonwealth of Virginia," said Baker. "It is our hope that our success may be a framework for other transit systems considering similar programs."

The full report is available at dashbus.com/free.