The Alexandria Transit Company (DASH) is proud to announce that we have received the Virginia Transit Association’s (VTA) 2025 Outstanding Community Program Award for our Fare-Free Program. The award was presented during VTA’s Annual Conference held May 28–29 in Richmond, Virginia, recognizing DASH’s efforts to improve equity and access in public transportation throughout Alexandria and the surrounding region.
“This award from VTA reaffirms our vision and highlights the incredible impact that our fare-free program has had both locally and regionally,” DASH CEO & General Manager Josh Baker. “This achievement wouldn’t have been possible without the support of our city leadership, regional partners, state officials, and, of course, our riders. Together, we’ve made great strides in ensuring public transportation is a tool for opportunity and inclusion, and we look forward to continuing this progress well into the future.”
As of June 2025, the program has been in effect for 44 months, making DASH the first transit agency in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the DC metro region to establish a multi-year fare-free program.
Launched in September 2021, the Fare-Free Program eliminated all passenger fares on DASH buses, removing a key financial barrier to transportation and improving mobility and access to essential services. In the years since its implementation, the program has emerged as a regional and national model for inclusive and sustainable urban transit, reversing pandemic-era ridership declines and setting new records along the way.
While transit agencies across the country continue to grapple with post-COVID recovery, DASH has defied the trend, recorded historic growth, and reached new milestones year after year:
- FY 2019: 3.77 million boardings (Pre-COVID baseline)
- FY 2020: 2.84 million boardings (Initial COVID-era ridership decline)
- FY 2021: 1.52 million boardings (COVID-era ridership prior to fare-free program)
- FY 2022: 3.02 million boardings (Ridership nearly doubled in the program’s first year)
- FY 2023: 4.54 million boardings (Set new annual record)
- FY 2024: 5.34 million boardings (Surpassed previous record by over 800,000)
- FY 2025: 546,000 boardings in a single month (New monthly record; annual boardings on track to exceed 5.3 million)
These figures reflect a clear trend of growth, but the program’s true success lies in its human impact and DASH’s transition into a “transit-as-a-lifestyle” bus service, becoming an integral part of everyday life rather than simply a means to and from work.
DASH remains committed to expanding and improving its services. With ongoing support from the City of Alexandria, the agency is working on several initiatives, including:
- Service Enhancements: Expanding bus routes and increasing service frequency
- Infrastructure Upgrades: Improving bus stops and implementing features for better accessibility
- Fleet Electrification: Transitioning to electric buses to reduce emissions
- Community Outreach: Ensuring services meet the needs of all riders through feedback and engagement
As DASH continues to innovate and expand, our focus remains on providing a safe, reliable, affordable, and accessible transit for all. The VTA award highlights the success of the Fare-Free Program and underscores our commitment to public transportation as a tool for equity and opportunity.