$38 million will support expanding the Alexandria Transit Company (DASH)'s purchase of zero-emission buses and continued high-frequency bus service.
The City of Alexandria will receive a $24 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA)'s Low/No Emission Buses and Bus & Bus Facilities Program. DASH will use the grant to buy 13 battery-electric buses and to install charging infrastructure at the City’s bus maintenance and storage facility. The grant will also provide funding to upgrade the DASH facility with additional electrical capacity and to cover the cost of additional training and workforce development programs related to fleet electrification.
DASH and the City of Alexandria were also awarded grant funding of $14 million through the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission’s I-395 Commuter Choice Program for Fiscal Year 2024 and 2025. The funds will be used to maintain high frequency service levels on DASH Lines 35 and 36A/B through Fiscal Year 2025.
DASH was also awarded funding to purchase two 60-foot articulated electric buses to increase capacity on Line 35, the busiest route in the entire DASH system. Line 35 runs from the Van Dorn Metro station to the Pentagon Metro station.
“The City is committed to reducing its environmental impact and improving air quality. The purchase of zero-emission buses is a major step forward in achieving these goals,” said Josh Baker, General Manager for DASH. “The new buses will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality for all residents of Alexandria.”
Alexandria is aiming to convert the entire DASH fixed-route bus fleet to 100% zero emissions technology by the year 2037, and that all new bus purchases starting in 2027 or later will have zero tailpipe emissions.
