DASH May Revive Del Ray/Arlandria Trolley Project
DASH looking into providing shrink-wrapped buses for weekend service.
With the Del Ray/Arlandria Trolley project currently in limbo, Alexandria’s bus system may lend a hand to get the service running in some capacity.
Patch revealed last week that the Del Ray/Arlandria Trolley line was in jeopardy after the city failed to receive a bid during a month-long contractor proposal period.
The route, approved by City Council in June, connects King Street Metro to Braddock Road Metro via Commonwealth Avenue and Braddock Road and then moves through Del Ray and into Arlandria before turning around. The motorized trolleys would run Thursday through Sunday primarily in the afternoon and evening hours.
City officials cited the economy and the risk involved for contractors to supply and operate trolleys for potentially only a one-year pilot program as reasons why the city failed to receive a bid.
Rich Baier, the city’s director of Transportation and Environmental Services, said the city might open a new bid period with different criteria.
If that fails, DASH is looking into providing free service to the route on Saturdays and Sundays with shrink-wrapped buses that will look, at least from the outside, like trolleys.
DASH General Manager Sandy Modell said she is currently looking at costs and moving schedules around to accommodate the buses.
“What we’re looking at now is if we can get trolley service through trolley-looking vehicles,” Modell said.
DASH took over operations of the King Street Trolley line in April. Modell said ridership “is up 60 to 70 percent” since DASH took over from a contractor.
The Del Ray Business Association and the Arlandria-Chirilagua Business Association have pushed for the trolley service for some time. Stephanie Pace Brown, former CEO of the Alexandria Convention and Visitors Association, had said the trolley service could be a way to connect visitors in Old Town with eateries to the north.
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Leslie Perkins
12:21 pm on Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Way to go, Sandy!
Larry Altenburg
12:50 pm on Tuesday, December 4, 2012
With all of the other financial issues and the constrained budget situation we have in the City, why is so much effort being put on a "free trolley" that costs the city about $1m with little measurable return on investment. I can think of at least a dozen better uses of $1m. The city should have taken the lack of bids on the RFP as a sign and scuttled the idea.
Joseph M.
4:43 pm on Tuesday, December 4, 2012
"DASH took over operations of the King Street Trolley line in April. Modell said ridership “is up 60 to 70 percent” since DASH took over from a contractor."
Is there data to back that up? That would be a very remarkable jump. What would explain it?
DASH General Manager
6:45 pm on Friday, December 7, 2012
Yes, Joseph, there is data to back that up. DASH is required to count ridership using a manual counter and the City does sample counts to validate our numbers. Total trolley ridership from May through September has increased over 65%, with June’s weekday ridership up 107%.
There are a number of reasons for this surge in ridership. The service is more reliable and on-time. Our drivers go through special customer service training on Alexandria’s history and Old Town. The new trolleys are cleaner, quieter, more accessible, and environmentally friendly. It’s not that the private contractor didn’t do a good job, it’s just that DASH is doing an exceptional job. Most private contractors operate on tight margins, with little to spend on training beyond how to drive the vehicle, and focused on the short-term contract period. Alexandria Transit Company is an integral part of the community, focused on providing high quality trolley and bus service, and on the longer-term goals and benefits to the City, residents, and tourists. We work diligently to foster strong partnerships and collaborative efforts to market and promote the trolley in ways that just weren’t done previously. DASH is very excited to be operating the King Street Trolley, a service that the City and the community can be proud of. We have seen the ridership grow steadily and more frequent service will be needed in the future to avoid overcrowding. But, I guess that’s not a bad problem to have...right?!