[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 41 (Monday, March 9, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E598]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   ON THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ALEXANDRIA TRANSIT COMPANY'S (ATC) 
                OPERATION OF THE CITY'S DASH BUS SYSTEM

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JAMES P. MORAN

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 9, 2009

  Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Madam Speaker I rise today to recognize the 
25th Anniversary of the Alexandria Transit Company's (ATC) Operation of 
the City's DASH Bus System. DASH stands for Driving Alexandrians Safely 
Home.
  Back during the early 1980s, Alexandria Mayor Charles ``Chuck'' 
Beatley had a vision of a local bus system that would serve the transit 
needs of the Alexandria community and provide high quality transit 
service for its residents, workers, and visitors.
  Mayor Beatley could have done no better than to name Mr. William B. 
``Bill'' Hurd as the first chairman of the Alexandria Transit Company. 
In Mr. Hurd, Mayor Beatley found not only a person who shared his 
vision of a new transit service, but also a supremely competent 
administrator who worked tirelessly for the next 22 years to create and 
sustain the DASH service. During his tenure as chairman, he delivered 
safe and reliable service with clean buses and friendly, courteous 
drivers.
  Today, ATC is recognized nationally and throughout the Commonwealth 
of Virginia for the service it provides and has won many outstanding 
achievement awards over the years, including the American Public 
Transportation Association's (APTA) System Safety Award for five 
consecutive years, the APTA Public Transportation System Outstanding 
Achievement Award, the Governor's Transportation Safety Award, the APTA 
first place AdWheels Marketing Award for innovative and creative 
marketing efforts for four years, the Virginia Department of Rail and 
Public Transportation (VDRPT) Outstanding Urban Public Transportation 
System Award, the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation 
(VDRPT) Innovative Program Award for six years, and the Virginia 
Transit Association (VTA) Outstanding Public Transportation Marketing 
Award for the ``Dash About'' service and ``DASHing Around Alexandria'' 
campaign. ATC was also recognized three years in a row by the 
Alexandria community as one of the top five city services for quality.
  Today DASH continues to provide clean, safe, affordable and reliable 
service every day to thousands of commuters, city residents, and 
visitors, but it has also grown to meet the needs of a growing city and 
the changing times. Over the past 25 years ridership has grown by more 
than 330 percent. Annual ridership has eclipsed four million. Fourteen 
thousand people ride DASH everyday and 10,000 ride on weekends. Service 
has grown from 582,000 service miles in the first full year of service 
in 1985 to more than. 1.5 million service miles today.
  Alexandria has many amenities as a charming, livable community; its 
historic homes and gardens, its street side restaurants and shops, the 
Potomac waterfront and its engaged, civic-minded citizenry. DASH 
contributes to Alexandria's high quality of life by preserving the 
city's livability, mitigating traffic, improving circulation and 
mobility throughout the City, and providing easier access to local 
businesses, retail and employment centers, residential developments, 
and the regional Metrorail and the Virginia Railway Express commuter 
rail systems.
  And as we begin to focus on the environmental challenges of air 
pollution and global warming, DASH has a key roll to play in promoting 
a less carbon intense alternative to the automobile. To demonstrate its 
commitment to a greener, eco-friendly city, the new DASH building under 
construction will be a LEED Certified Silver building.
  I salute ATC and DASH for twenty-five years of superb service. I also 
salute its employees and the Board of Directors, for their 
contributions and efforts to improve public transportation service 
throughout the City, for their achievements that have been recognized 
both nationally and by the Commonwealth of Virginia, and in providing 
the highest quality of service to Alexandria.
  I wish them a successful future.

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