I had just crossed the tracks at Fort Worth Central when I saw it driving through the bus terminal- The Dash, a fully electric bus with a striking red paint job. I took a few photos before watching the bus leave on it’s journey through Sundance Square and then to Fort Worth’s many museums. It was a beautiful and silent machine, the perfect bus for a nice, modern city. Of course, I had meant to get on that bus which was now speeding away from me.

Fortunately, The Dash runs about every 15 minutes depending on traffic. In almost no time at all (at least compared to the TRE) I was on the next one heading through downtown, towards the museums.

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The Dash was clean and modern, with fairly comfortable seating. While somewhat rough at times (due mostly to poor street conditions) the lack of any engine noise made for a quiet ride. The service connects Fort Worth Central Station (where the Texrail and TRE stop) to all of the major Fort Worth museums, as well as the convention center. It’s meant primarily to serve visitors to the city and it works really well for this.

This bus is part of the Trinity Metro system (which runs in Fort Worth and slightly beyond) meaning the fare is cheap at only $5 for a local day pass. This also allows you to ride every other bus and train in the system, which is pretty convenient.

The Dash features a striking red paint job that sets it apart from other Trinity Metro buses. 

A Modern Bus With Modern Amenities

Inside, the seating has a U-shaped arrangement with standing room in the middle. There are USB ports between every two seats on the sides, although I didn’t see any for the seats which face forward at the rear of the bus. The cantilevered setup of the seating means that it would be easy to store a backpack or small luggage underneath, which isn’t particularly needed when going to a museum but is still nice to have. And, despite how it looks in the following images, those are not overhead bins for storage. Another great feature is the bike rack on front, though once again, you probably won’t need it for a trip to museum.

And for the most part, that’s really it. The Dash doesn’t offer anything complicated to the rider, it really just exists to get you around. And it does that efficiently and comfortably, with no emissions and almost no noise. I think better roads would make for a more comfortable ride,  but of course this is a problem here in Arlington, too. It will be interesting to see if the Trinity Metro has success with The Dash, and whether or not they decide to electrify other bus routes as well.

Accessible Seating

The Dash makes it easy for all passengers to board and ride, regardless of physical ability. Like many other modern buses, the vehicle “kneels”, allowing curb-level boarding.

Seating

Basic but comfortable seating makes the Dash an enjoyable ride.

Power

USB sockets spaced between every two seats allows easy charging of all your devices while you ride. Bring a charging cable!

Route and Schedule

• Electric buses, as part of a BRT system may be the perfect solution for Arlington’s traffic problems

What Could Electric Buses Do For Arlington?

The Dash doesn’t solve every problem that buses have, considering it’s still stuck in traffic and subject to any resulting delays. Also it relies entirely on batteries instead of a hybrid system like the Brookville Liberty streetcar, which uses overhead wires for most of it’s route but can also go without them for short periods. Charging means downtime and downtime costs money, so perhaps it might make sense to partially electrify routes in the future. The trolley bus is already a well established and widely used transit method, just not here in America. Maybe we could take that idea and improve it.

Arlington could benefit from a bus like The Dash if it was part of a robust and rapid public transit system. The Dash doesn’t fix many of the problems inherent in the typical bus metro system but, combined with dedicated bus lanes, sheltered platforms, stoplight right-of-way and other features, a bus system can be as fast and convenient as light rail. This is commonly known as Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and is described in depth by the Institute for Transportation & Development Policy. You can read it be clicking this link.

Ultimately, what Arlington needs is rapid, high-capacity public transit. This is what will truly relieve our traffic problems and allow us to move more people to more places