A 43-year-old Alexandria man was put on supervised probation after stealing a juvenile girl’s phone at a bus stop in the West End.
The incident occurred on June 7 (Tuesday) at around 7:45 a.m. at a bus stop located at 5600 Rayburn Avenue — near the intersection with N. Beauregard Street.
With bus activity likely to see a significant uptick with the opening of the Potomac Yard Metro station, the city is looking at converting a turn lane on Glebe Road into a bus lane (item 5, page 8).
The plan has the dual purpose of benefitting buses and reducing the number of general-purpose lanes pedestrians have to cross.
While DASH won’t be able to cover the service gap from the upcoming Metro closures, WMATA announced some new measures yesterday that will attempt to replace Alexandria’s upcoming loss of Metro service.
There are two Metro shutdowns coming to Alexandria that will, together, eliminate or reduce Metro service in Alexandria from September to next May. The first is a shutdown of all stations south of the new Potomac Yard Metro station. The Potomac Yard closure is expected to last from Sept. 10 to Oct. 22. The Potomac Yard closure overlaps with the start of work on the Yellow Line Bridge from Sept. 10 to May. During the much longer Yellow Line Bridge closure, riders will have to take the Blue Line to Rosslyn to cross over into D.C.
Starting today (Monday), Alexandria’s DASH bus network is going through some changes to how riders board buses and how strollers can be used.
While passengers before could only enter buses through the front doors, DASH is changing its policy for riders to be able to use either door.
DASH has been on a roll recently with a variety of factors conspiring to push the bus service up to 300,000 total boardings in March, a 73% increase over ridership last fall.
Some of that’s thanks to changes within the DASH bus system: like eliminating fares and shifting toward a system that prioritizes frequent service in high-density corridors.
The Alexandria bus system has seen a significant uptick in ridership over the last few months, thanks in part to the new fare-free policy, changes to the DASH network and declining Covid numbers.
DASH said ridership hit nearly 300,000 total boardings in March, a 73% increase over ridership in August before the change to the new network. Ridership dipped significantly in January during the Omicron variant.
The Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) is starting to look at financing for an extensive transportation project connecting Alexandria and Tysons.
The Envision Route 7 BRT project aims to bring a high-capacity transit service running from Tysons to Mark center in Alexandria, with stops at Seven Corners, Falls Church and the East Falls Church Metro station. The project is currently undergoing a mobility study looking over traffic operations and impact, with a particular eye toward the Falls Church segment.
Alexandria’s DASH bus service is headed back to regular service after the omicron surge of COVID-19 forced the bus system to operate with a reduced schedule.
DASH scaled back its weekday bus service in December, with many lines operating on the reduced weekend hours and frequency.
If the city wants a fully electrical bus fleet, DASH leadership said its going to need to invest in making sure buses can recharge across the city.
In a meeting with the City Council ahead of the legislative session last night, DASH General Manager Josh Baker outlined some challenges facing the city as it pushes to have a fully electric bus fleet by 2035.
DASH ridership has been working its way back up toward pre-pandemic levels after a nasty slump caused by COVID-19.
In a monthly newsletter, Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson shared some figures for DASH ridership from the months after the city’s new fare-free program and route adjustment was put into place.
One day after a severe snowstorm hit Alexandria, some things are returning to normal while other services remain closed.
Alexandria bus service DASH suspended service yesterday, but has since returned with snow routes — adjusted routes following more thoroughly cleared sections of roadway.
