DASH weighs eliminating three bus lines and shortening Lines 30 and 31 to close $3.5 million gap

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — DASH would stop running Line 31 through Old Town and end Line 30 short of the Van Dorn Metro station under both of the service-cut packages going to its board Wednesday. The larger package would also eliminate Lines 102, 103 and 104, which together carry about 310,000 riders a year.

The board is being asked to choose one package to send to public outreach and a Nov. 12 public hearing. That hearing would be its last chance to stop the cuts before they take effect Jan. 31, according to a staff report.

Three weeks ago, General Manager Josh Baker told City Council that “none of us want to cut service to close the gap.” The report now says that with other reductions exhausted, “the remaining gap can only be closed by reducing service.”