|
|
As soon as news of the attack arrived, someone was on the phone to the city of Alexandria command center, asking how DASH could help. It was less than an hour before a call came for assistance.
Alexandria Transit sometimes gets calls for help during major emergencies, explained its general manager, Sandy Modell. When firefighters spend hours battling a blaze, for example, a bus on the scene can serve as a portable rest shelter for rescue workers. At other times, as on Sept. 11, DASH provides emergency transportation.
Alexandria firefighters--but not all their vehicles--were needed at the Pentagon. The city command center asked for three buses to transport the firefighters to the Pentagon and to serve as emergency ambulances if necessary.
"DASH people immediately volunteered," said Modell. "I was very proud of our people."
The command center's request was only the first call for assistance that DASH received that day. After they delivered the firefighters, the buses sent to the Pentagon weren't needed as substitute ambulances, but there was a lot more emergency transportation required.
Amtrak and Virginia Railway Express trains leave Washington for Virginia via a tunnel under First Street on the east side of Capitol Hill, and the Secret Service closed the tunnel and sent agents through it to inspect it, stopping passenger train service till mid-afternoon.
At the same time, the Washington Metro stopped operating its Yellow Line across the Potomac because it crosses the river on a bridge under the flight path of planes entering and leaving National Airport.
The rail service disruptions left thousands of passengers stranded in Washington. DASH sent about six buses to Washington's Union Station to bring people to the King Street station in Alexandria.
DASH is a small system, with 49 buses and about 70 drivers, so it doesn't have a lot of surplus capacity. However, the attack occurred just as many buses were returning to the garage after the morning rush hour. The maintenance department took 15 to 18 buses, ran them through the service lane, gassed them up and had them ready for service in one hour, said Modell.
Even more buses were needed. Although Metro was operating at King Street, Amtrak was not, and all but one of VRE's trains were in Washington, unable to leave. The conductor of one Amtrak train asked DASH to provide transportation to Richmond, and VRE, using its one train as a shuttle between Alexandria and Manassas, asked for buses to take its passengers to stations on the Fredericksburg line.
Modell was reluctant to send buses as far away as Richmond--they would be needed for the evening rush hour--so she called Greater Richmond Transit, which agreed to send a bus to Fredericksburg.
Soon six DASH buses were shuttling between Alexandria and Fredericksburg, and when the Amtrak passengers arrived in Fredericksburg they had to wait only minutes before the Richmond bus arrived to take them the rest of the way.
Although DASH turned in a creditable performance on Sept. 11, Alexandria Transit is looking at ways to do better the next time an emergency call for help comes.
For example, "communication was a problem," noted Modell. DASH buses are equipped with radios, but with cellphones not working there was some difficulty reaching off-duty employees, although employees who had the day off were calling headquarters or just showing up.
Meanwhile, DASH is back to its ordinary business of carrying passengers seven days a week. VRE passengers ride free with a validated ticket. For information on DASH routes and services, visit the DASH Web site at www.dash bus.com or call 703/370-3274.
STEVE DUNHAM commutes daily on Virginia Railway Express to Arlington, where he works as an editor. A Spotsylvania County resident, he chairs the board of directors of the Virginia Association of Railway Patrons. Write him, c/o Commuter Crossroads, The Free Lance-Star, 616 Amelia St., Fredericksburg, Va. 22401. Or e-mail literalman@aol.com.