Business View Magazine | July 2019

279 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE JULY 2019 THE ALEXANDR I A TRANS I T COMPANY the vehicles like any other driver. So, we’ve hired them to spend the summer in the Washington area, learn a little bit more about how transit works here and to operate the shuttles for us. That’s been our strategy.” Baker hopes that the summer’s tight construction schedule will be met, but, just in case, he says that after the first few weeks of service are complete and things are running smoothly, he’s going to turn his focus to figuring out how DASH can sustain the added service after Labor Day, if necessary. Meanwhile, Marketing & Communications Manager, Whitney Code, is somewhat more assured. “This is actually the first in a series of platform improvement projects that Metro intends to undergo,” she states. “And as the first, I think they understand how important this is to be completed in a timely fashion. I’ve also been informed that there have been some incentives built in for the contractor to make sure that they stay on time. So, they are very focused on making sure that this project wraps as and when it should.” Finally, Baker reveals that DASH is getting ready to launch a new mobile app that will allow its passengers to purchase bus tickets via their smart phones. “That’s a new thing for us and we’re the first system in this region to be doing this, so everyone’s looking at us to see how it goes,” he avers. “We’re launching that, simultaneously, with the shutdown in the hopes that it will provide a convenience for our passengers. In addition, we’re doing a special buy-down of fares. Our normal fare is $1.75, and we’re buying it down to a dollar if you use the mobile app.” Baker hopes that the new technology will ultimately replace the current system. “This region has what’s called Smart Trip, which is a regional fare card type system that is now getting quite old,” he remarks. “It came out in the early 2000s. It can be used in all the transit systems and so, we’re working to pilot this mobile ticketing in the hopes that the rest of the region will adopt it and it will eventually replace the Smart Trip program.”