DASH Bus Mobile App Pilot Report - LEXA N
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A
IA TR NSIT C
DASH Bus
DR O
N
M
XA
PA
ALE
Mobile App
NY
Pilot Report
July 2020
TaBle of contents
Executive Summary......................................................................1
Background ..................................................................................2
Procurement and Launch..............................................................3
DASH Bus App Overview.............................................................4
New DASH Bus App Features ......................................................6
Finances and Administration ........................................................7
Operator Training and Feedback .................................................8
Marketing and Outreach ..............................................................9
Customer Service .......................................................................10
Usage Statistics ..........................................................................11
DASH Bus App Customer Survey...............................................12
Key Issues and Findings .............................................................13
Final Recommendations .............................................................15
DASH Bus Mobile App Pilot Report July 2020 i
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The DASH Bus App mobile ticketing pilot was launched in June 2019 on the moovel platform to provide customers
with a more convenient alternative fare payment option. The app allows DASH customers to purchase 4-Hour
passes or 31-Day Flex Passes on their smartphones using credit cards, debit cards, Paypal, and other e-wallets.
Passes purchased through the DASH Bus app are currently accepted on DASH buses, and require visual validation
by the operator, who then records each app boarding with a farebox button. The long-term goal is to develop a
regional mobile ticketing platform that is accepted by all major transit providers in the region with electronic
validation to provide a seamless user experience.
During its first year, the DASH Bus app was downloaded over 7,000 times and accounted for more than 35,000
boardings on DASH buses. The total annual app boardings represent about 1.5% of total DASH revenue boardings
for the entire year. Excluding the first three months – which coincided with a total Metrorail shutdown in Alexandria
– the DASH Bus app accounted for over two (2) percent of total DASH revenue boardings. DASH also successfully
launched several fare partnerships with local high schools where passes were distributed via email through the
DASH Bus app. These programs demonstrated the ease with which fare pass products could be managed
externally, and the flexibility the app gives agencies to create new fare products.
From a customer satisfaction standpoint, the app was a
huge success. An online user survey performed in
February 2020 found that 91 percent of the users
surveyed were either “satisfied” or “extremely
satisfied” with the app. Roughly two-thirds of users who
identified SmarTrip as their previous fare payment
method said that the DASH Bus app was “significantly
more convenient” than SmarTrip. Many users liked that
they did not need to carry cash or a SmarTrip card.
Other popular features included real-time arrival
information, the “buy again” function, the ability to
purchase fares for multiple riders on one device, and a
$1.00 discount that was offered for the first six months
as part of the rail shutdown. Suggested improvements
from customers include a customer rewards program
for frequent riders, and the addition of other regional
transit providers.
DASH operators have been receptive to the app and appreciate the convenient security features that allowed them
to quickly confirm that the ticket was valid. One area of improvement would be additional trainings to ensure that
all operators are familiar with all app-related policies so that no customers are wrongly denied service by untrained
operators. Operators also had a strong preference for moving the app to electronic validation, which would remove
the need for visual inspection and provide a much safer fare payment option for a post-COVID transit environment.
Based on the successes of its first year and the clear benefits of a mobile ticketing platform, DASH will be extending
the current DASH Bus app pilot by one year through March 2021. This will provide additional time for staff to
evaluate the app, test new features, and work with other local transit providers to coordinate on a regional mobile
payment platform. Additional findings and recommendations are provided in the final two sections of this report.
DASH Bus Mobile App Pilot Report July 2020 1
BAckground
By early 2019, DASH had been exploring potential mobile ticketing platforms to provide its customers with more
convenient fare payment options for more than a year. The 2019 WMATA Platform Improvement Project – and the
closure of all four Metrorail stations and their respective ticket vending machines (TVM’s) - provided an additional
impetus for DASH to launch a one-year pilot program due to the impact of the rail station closures on the access to
TVM’s. As a result, DASH was able to secure a grant for a mobile ticketing pilot from the Virginia Department of Rail
and Public Transit (DRPT), which provided funding to help mitigate the impacts of the Platform Improvement Project.
DASH had also been involved in several regional
efforts to advance mobile ticketing. Over the
previous two years, the Northern Virginia
Transportation Commission (NVTC) had been working
with DASH and other regional transit agencies to
develop the Northern Virginia Regional Fare
Collection Strategic Plan, which was adopted in May
2018.
One of the six major recommendations from the plan
was to “develop a coordinated local platform for
mobile ticketing.” Since DASH has viewed its mobile
ticketing pilot as a first step towards a regional
platform, NVTC staff, consultants and several regional
partners were closely involved in the planning and
procurement phases. An NVTC Mobile Ticketing
Industry Day in late 2018 also included presentations
for many of the mobile ticketing vendors who
participated in the DASH RFP process.
One regional transit partner, VRE (Virginia Railway Express), has provided a mobile
ticketing option for its customers since 2015. The VRE Mobile app on the moovel
platform supports mobile payments for VRE tickets and provides trip planning
resources. The VRE mobile app has become the preferred option for most regular
VRE passengers and handles approximately $15 million in annual passenger
revenues.
WMATA has also been working towards its own smartphone app over the last two
years, which would allow SmarTrip cardholders to trade in their plastic cards for an
app-based “virtual” SmarTrip card. The virtual card would have the same
functionality as traditional SmarTrip cards, but value could be added and far
products purchased via the smartphone app.
The WMATA app will support regional fare products and would be accepted on DASH buses, however, the app
would not have any DASH branding and would not easily accommodate custom DASH fare products. As a result,
DASH is still interested in pursuing a more regional platform that is less reliant on the existing SmarTrip
infrastructure. The WMATA SmarTrip app is currently undergoing final testing and is expected to be launched by
late 2020.
DASH Bus Mobile App Pilot Report July 2020 2
procurement and launch
The RFP process for the DASH mobile ticketing app began in
February 2019. Since the app was needed to reduce the impact
of the Platform Improvement Project on DASH customers who
would lose access to Ticket Vending Machines (TVM’s) in closed
Metrorail stations, the target launch date for the app was the
start of the rail shutdown in late May 2019.
As a result, DASH initiated an accelerated, internal RFP process
to select its mobile ticketing vendor. The RFP document
included a project background, scope of services, technical
requirements matrix, and project evaluation criteria, and a
special regional contract rider to allow for other regional transit
partners to “ride on” the DASH contract.
DASH received eight proposals for its mobile ticketing RFP. An RFP panel
comprised of DASH staff, NVTC staff, NVTC consultants and partner agency
staff was formed to review the proposals and identify the preferred vendor.
Proposals were evaluated based on twelve criteria, including app functionality,
user experience, capacity for future electronic validation and regional
integration, pricing, and ability to meet the desired May 2019 launch date.
The RFP panel, which include DASH staff as well as staff from NVTC and other
regional partners, reviewed and evaluated all eight proposals. Based on the
scores provided for each proposal, moovel North America was selected as the
preferred vendor. Moovel was selected based on its user-friendly app
interface, fulfillment of the RFP scope requirements, pre-existing VRE mobile
ticketing app deployment, and capability for future regional expansion,
electronic validation, and mobility-as-a-service potential. Moovel also
presented a highly competitive cost proposal with lower upfront and lifetime
costs.
After brief negotiations and contract discussions, DASH finalized moovel as its
selection for its mobile ticketing app pilot. Upon issuance of the Notice of
Award, DASH and moovel worked to finalize a contract that would cover the
pilot year through April 2020, with four optional extension years. The contract
with moovel was structured to include an eight (8) percent transaction fee with
each app purchase to cover the cost of moovel support, as well as any credit
card fees. The fee was reduced to five (5) percent during the pilot year.
Since the moovel app platform was already developed, the onboarding process for DASH was relatively short and
straightforward. DASH staff only needed to provide basic information such as the app name, branding materials, fare
products, pricing, and links to its schedule and trip planning information. Once these details were finalized, the
moovel team created the app in a development environment for testing by moovel and DASH staff. The final app
was approved and deployed in late May with a public launch date of June 1, 2019, just days after the start of the
WMATA Platform Improvement Project. Additional information on DASH Bus app marketing and outreach efforts is
provided later in the document.
DASH Bus Mobile App Pilot Report July 2020 3
DASH BUS APP OVERVIEW
The DASH Bus app is based on the standard moovel mobile ticketing app platform. At its core, the platform allows
customers to purchase, activate and use DASH fare products. The app is available on both Android and iOS devices,
and can be downloaded for free in their respective app stores.
After downloading the DASH Bus app, the user must set up an account with their name, email address, telephone
number, and preferred payment methods. Accepted methods of payment initially included credit card, debit card,
and e-wallet platforms such as PayPal, Apple Pay and Google Pay. Payments may also be split between two different
payment methods, if desired. Once a payment method has been confirmed, users are able to view and purchase fare
products from the DASH fare catalog.
The following fare products are currently available for purchase through the DASH Bus app:
4-Hour Pass
This product represents the DASH base fare that users would purchase to make a single DASH trip but can cover
multiple trips within four hours of ticket activation.
The 4-Hour Pass cost is $2.00, but DASH was able to offer a special introductory discount of $1.00 from June to
December 2019. This discount was funded by DRPT and helped mitigate the impact of the WMATA Platform
Improvement Project.
31-Day Flex Pass
This product allows users to take unlimited rides on DASH buses for 31 consecutive days at a cost of $45.00 per
pass. This pass effectively replaces the monthly “DASH Pass” for app users with a convenient distinction.
While the DASH Pass is only valid for one calendar month after it is purchased (e.g. August 1 – August 31), the
31-Day Flex Pass is valid for 31 consecutive days and can begin and end in the middle of a month (e.g. August
14 – September 13). This flexibility removes one the major barriers to usage of the regular DASH Pass, which
must either be purchased well in advance of first use, or, if purchased in the days after the first of the month,
cannot be used for a full month of rides.
DASH Bus Mobile App Pilot Report July 2020 4
DASH BUS APP OVERVIEW (continued) An additional fare product – the Student Summer Pass, which provides unlimited rides for local students during the summer months – was included but never activated. The timeline to add or update fare products is two weeks or less, which is a significant improvement over current SmarTrip-based fare products. Reduced fare products for senior and disabled riders were not included in the pilot app due to challenges with eligibility verification, but could be included in the future. After a user has successfully purchased a fare product, it will appear on the “My Tickets” screen. When the user is preparing to board the bus, the ticket must be “Activated”, at which point the period of validity (e.g. four hours or 31 days) will begin. When the ticket is activated, the app prompts a customized animation screen, pictured at right. Once boarded, customers are required to present this validation screen to the bus operator who must visually inspect the screen to determine if the ticket is valid. The validation screen includes several features to protect against fraud and screen captures, including animated DASH buses, a live display of the date and time, a touch-screen feature that changes the background color, QR code, and a two-digit alphanumeric code that changes each day and consequently should match all other app-based tickets on any given day. Expired tickets are grayed out for easy identification. In addition to the mobile ticketing functions, the DASH Bus app also includes a “Trip Tools” section with links to DASH route schedules and real-time bus arrival information. The “Schedules & Maps” link redirects users to the bus schedules page on the DASH website. The “Real-Time Bus Arrivals” link redirects users to the Transit app but is in the process of being changed to direct to the new and improved DASH Bus Tracker platform. DASH Bus Mobile App Pilot Report July 2020 5
NEW DASH BUS APP features
During the pilot year, moovel and DASH were able to add several new features to enhanced convenience and
allow for additional fare partnerships:
SmartBenefits Integration
Last fall, moovel updated the app to accept SmartBenefits monthly allocations
through the WMATA Vanpool site. SmartBenefits is a transit benefit program
that allows employers to provide employees with a monthly transit subsidy that
can be used towards transit fares and passes.
Through the SmartBenefits integration, users are able to allocate a portion of
their monthly SmartBenefits funds to the DASH Bus app through the vanpool
section of the SmartBenefits website. Although this feature was implemented,
it has not yet been advertised due to the anticipated development of a
SmartBenefits API and the suspension of fares due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
DASH will begin promoting this feature once fare collection is resumed.
“Fare Share”
Moovel created the “Fare Share” feature as a way for transit agencies to
distribute transit passes to partner organizations such as social services
or local schools. The “Fare Share” program operates through the TOMS
platform, a web-based user management system that allows
administrators to add, delete or modify the user accounts that have
access to the transit passes.
As an example, DASH partnered with two local high schools –
St. Stephens + St. Agnes School and the Fusion Academy – to allow all
students to ride DASH for free during the school year. DASH provided
school staff with access to the TOMS platform, where they were able to
upload a list of student email addresses. An email is then automatically
sent to each of the student email addresses with a link to download the
DASH Bus app. Once the app is downloaded, the student is prompted
to create an account and the corresponding transit pass is automatically
added to their “My Tickets” page for immediate use.
DASH Bus Mobile App Pilot Report July 2020 6
FINANCES AND ADMINISTRATION
DASH and moovel staff collaborated to establish a monthly revenue reconciliation process. Transactions are first
recorded in the mobile app itself, proceed through various third-party payment processers, and then funds are
deposited in a DASH bank account on a daily basis. Actual processing fees charged by the third parties are
compared against the contract rate of 5 percent or 8 percent and the difference is either paid to or credited back
from moovel.
Smart Benefits allocated to the mobile app are deposited by WMATA on a monthly basis. Overall, the accounting for
the mobile app has gone smoothly and moovel staff have been responsive to our needs thus far.
Additional administrative processes were conducted through the TOMS web portal, which allows DASH staff to view
all app users and perform basic account management functions, including moving tickets to a new mobile devices or
granting refunds/courtesy tickets for customers that have been inconvenienced. The TOMS portal also includes a
reporting functions that provide detailed info on transactions, usage, courtesy tickets and Fare Share program usage.
TOMS App Management Portal
DASH Bus Mobile App Pilot Report July 2020 7
operator training and feedback DASH and moovel staff worked together in May 2019 to provide app training sessions to Operations staff, including Operations Management, Field Supervision, and Bus Operators. The primary focus of this training was to instruct operators on the basics of how the app worked, and the how to visually inspect a ticket with the validation screen to ensure that the ticket is authentic. Flyers and additional messaging were also created to make sure that the operators were aware of the DASH Bus app and how tickets should be validated. Operators learned how to use the security features of the validation screen, and how to record each boarding based on the two-digit fare code (e.g. “K1” or “K2”) that specified which farebox key should be pressed. Additional DASH Bus app Q & A sessions with drivers were held during quarterly safety meetings to re-emphasized app fare policies. Frequent topics included driver confusion regarding users who present multiple tickets on one smartphone (DASH policy is a maximum of 6 per device), users whose smartphone battery has died (fare not accepted), and a strong desire to move towards electronic validation to minimize driver involvement in the fare collection process. DASH Bus Mobile App Pilot Report July 2020 8
marketing and outreach Although the primary focus of last summer was the Platform Improvement Project, the DASH Marketing & Communications team also worked hard to raise awareness of the DASH Bus app. The outreach included online engagement, onboard posters and announcements, radio advertisements, pop-up events at major transit centers, how-to videos, and a specially wrapped “DASH Bus App” bus, pictured at right. The main message of the campaign was to “simplify your commute” with a focus on promoting the ways by which the app would make it easier and more convenient to ride DASH buses. One particularly successful promotional event was the “Bus Stop Takeover”, which was held at a high-ridership bus stop in west Alexandria. For one day, DASH staff “took over” the bus stop to promote the DASH Bus app. Staff decorated the shelter with posters and balloons, wore special DASH Bus app T-shirts, set up a tent with giveaway items and a TV showing the app promotional video, and showed customers how to download the app in person. Staff and customers both seemed to enjoy the event and it help get the word out about the app and how to use it. Online engagement continues in support of the DASH Bus mobile app, but other forms of outreach have been decreased due to the COVID pandemic and the suspension of fares. Additional outreach is planned to highlight the convenience of the app when fares are reinstated. DASH Bus Mobile App Pilot Report July 2020 9
customer service
Basic app-related customer service training was provided to the DASH Customer Service team by moovel staff at
the start of the pilot. The team was trained in how the app worked and common questions they might receive.
Topics included how to purchase tickets through the web-based portal, how to transfer tickets between devices,
and how to modify user accounts through the TOMS system, including how to grant courtesy tickets. Although the
Customer Service team was able to answer basic questions, more technical issues were passed on to DASH
Planning staff or moovel support staff. The moovel customer support team uses the Zendesk platform (pictured
below) for the creation, tracking and management of customer service issue tickets. The response times for DASH
customer issues were adequate, however, very few tickets were submitted, especially after the first four months.
The ability to review transaction history and issue courtesy tickets was a particularly helpful benefit.
Zendesk Customer Service Management Portal
DASH Bus Mobile App Pilot Report July 2020 10USage statistics
DASH has monitored several key metrics to monitor
the success of the app throughout the pilot period.
Staff have tracked the number of users that have
downloaded the app, the number of app-based
boardings, the breakdown of fare products used, and
many other usage statistics.
App Downloads
From June 2019 to March 2020, DASH estimates that
the DASH Bus app was downloaded over 7,000
times. As shown in the graph at left, the cumulative
total of downloads increased consistently throughout
the pilot period with an average of 750 new installs
per month.
Fare Purchases
Over the first ten months of the pilot, users
purchased over 20,000 fare products for a total of
over $50,000 in fares. The base 4-Hour Pass
accounted for roughly 97 percent of all fare
purchases. Nearly 600 31-Day Flex Passes were
purchased at $45 per pass during the pilot period,
which account for the remaining three percent of
purchases. The number of monthly passes purchased
was likely limited by the availability of the
introductory $1.00 discount on the four-hour passes
for the first seven months of the pilot. This special
deal meant that the only customers who would save
money with the $45.00 monthly pass were the
extremely frequent riders who ride DASH more than
10 times per week.
App Boardings
The DASH Bus app accounted for a total of over 35,000 total boardings – or about two percent of total DASH
revenue boardings – throughout the pilot period. The number of app-based boardings started out slow during the
first few months of the WMATA Platform Improvement Project shutdown, but they grew steadily throughout the year
and eclipsed 5,200 in the month of December, as shown in the graph below. Overall DASH ridership was heavily
impacted by both the Platform Imrovement Project during the first three months of the pilot, and the COVID-19
pandemic during the last two months.
To incentivize app usage and mitigate the impact of the Metrorail shutdown, DASH was able to offer a special
introductory base fare of $1.00 from June through December 2019. The cost differential of this discount was
covered by DRPT funding. Many riders cited this discount as one of the top benefits of using the app and
requested that it be extended beyond December. Though the number of app boardings did decrease slightly in
January and February with the full-price base fares, the drop off was less significant than expected.
DASH Bus Mobile App Pilot Report July 2020 11DASH bus app customer survey To capture some additional customer feedback on the DASH Bus app, DASH created an online survey that was distributed to all app users. It was conducted online and distributed to all registered app users in February and March 2020. The survey consisted of 11 questions. The purpose of the survey was to get user feedback of overall impressions, convenience, and possible improvements to the app. A total of 127 survey responses were received. Some of the key survey findings include: • 91 percent of users were satisfied with the app; 65 percent were “extremely satisfied”. • 65 percent of users said that they use the DASH Bus app to pay their fare every time they ride DASH. • 77 percent of app users indicated that – prior to the DASH Bus app – their primary method of fare payment had been a SmarTrip card. 17 percent said that they had been previously paying with cash. • 64 percent of all users said that the DASH Bus app was “significantly more convenient” than their previous method of fare payment. An additional 22 percent said that the app was either as convenient, or slightly more convenient than their previous method. • 100 percent of respondents said that DASH should continue to offer a mobile ticketing app that allows customers to pay their fares using their smartphones. For customers, the added convenience was a significant benefit. As noted previously, nearly two out of every three respondents believed that the app was “significantly more convenient” than their previous method of fare payment. One user went further, saying “[the DASH Bus app] is a convenient system when cash is not in place”. Other customers appreciated not having to remember to remember to bring their SmarTrip card or keep it loaded. Additional features that were praised by customers for their added convenience included the real-time bus arrival information, and the buy again feature that simplified repeat purchases. Both these features save the user time and offer more predictability in their transit experience. In terms of suggested improvements, the two most popular suggestions were implementing a DASH frequent rider rewards programs and having the ability to use the DASH Bus app on Metrobus, Metrorail and other regional transit partners. DASH Bus Mobile App Pilot Report July 2020 12
key issues and findings
The DASH Bus app pilot project has created a convenient
alternative for DASH Customers to pay their fares. It has
also provided DASH with insights into some of the
operational challenges that are associated with operating
a mobile ticketing platform.
A list of some of the key issues and lessons learned is
provided below:
• Procurement: This procurement represented the first formalized RFP process conducted by DASH. Previous major
RFP’s for DASH projects had been conducted by the City of Alexandria’s Purchasing Department. This project
helped DASH to gain more specific experience with procurement process best practices, which led to the
development of a full DASH Purchasing Policy and standardized RFP Procedures.
• App Launch: The launch of the app was timed to coincide with the start of a major Metrorail shutdown project that
limited customer access to Ticket Vending Machines (TVM’s), which are used by many DASH customers to add value
to their SmarTrip cards. While the app did provide an alternative fare payment method for these customers, DASH
was not able to focus as much outreach on the app launch as it warranted due to the need to focus on shutdown-
related messaging. With additional time and resources, we would have undertaken more pop-up events and station
takeovers to help spread the word about the new app. Additional promotional events were planned for Spring 2020,
but were scrapped due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• App Usage: Over the course of its first ten months, the DASH Bus app accounted for 35,000 boardings, which
represents roughly two percent of all DASH revenue boardings during that time. Although this is a relatively small
percentage of overall DASH boardings, the app stats and survey results suggest that the customers who used the
app found it to be extremely convenient and used it for most – if not all – of their fare purchases. With additional
improvements and expansion to other regional bus providers, the usage numbers would be expected to rise
dramatically.
• Customized Fare Products: One major benefit of the app was the ability to quickly adjust fares and to develop
customized fare products. DASH was able to use these features by providing a discounted $1.00 base fare for app
users for the first seven months of the pilot period, and a 31-Day Flex pass instead of the traditional monthly DASH
Pass. Additional products such as the DASH Student Summer Pass and a joint DASH-Potomac Riverboat Company
pass were also developed but ultimately not implemented due to circumstances unrelated to the app.
• Fare Policy: With the new custom fare products, DASH had to set additional fare policies and business rules for
each fare product. These include product names, prices, product duration, expiration dates, maximum number of
passengers that can board using the app, and customer eligibility. Each of these components requires careful
consideration, and must be communicated throughout the organization, particularly to frontline staff in the
Operations and Customer Service departments.
• Courtesy Tickets: The ability of DASH staff – specifically Customer Service staff – to provide electronic courtesy
tickets, or refunds, to customers through the app represented a significant improvement from previous customer
service practices, which relied upon tokens and paper vouchers. DASH Customer Service staff were given training
and specific guidelines on how and when these free passes could be distributed.
DASH Bus Mobile App Pilot Report July 2020 13key issues and findings (continued) • Visual Validation vs. Electronic Validation: The DASH Bus app pilot relied upon visual inspection by operators to confirm ticket validity, since electronic validation requires the purchase and installation of onboard validation equipment. In the long run, a requirement of any permanent mobile ticketing platform would be electronic validation with scanning devices onboard each bus at both the front and rear doors. This will provide a much easier validation process for both passengers and operators, and will reduce the need for driver intervention which can lead to conflicts. Lastly, the COVID-19 pandemic has made it clear that any equipment that can reduce the need for passenger-driver interaction – or eliminate the need for front door boarding – will ensure a safer experience for everyone involved. • Fare Share Program: The moovel “Fare Share” program allowed DASH to provide free transit passes to student from two local high schools through the “Free Student Rides” program, and DASH is planning to further expand its usage in the upcoming school year. This feature is one of the most useful parts of the DASH Bus app in that it provides free rides to eligible program participants and allows staff from the partner organization to take care of program administration instead of DASH staff. • SmartBenefits Integration: Moovel was able to add SmartBenefits as a valid payment option for the DASH Bus app midway through the pilot year by creating a Vanpool account on the WMATA SmartBenefits portal. This process relies on a manual upload of SmartBenefits data to the DASH Bus app by moovel staff at the start of each month, but DASH is hopeful that this will eventually become an automated process to reduce the risk of error. Although the integration was successful, WMATA was in the process of making several major changes to its SmartBenefits portal in early 2020, and therefore DASH postponed a full marketing and outreach campaign. The WMATA SmartBenefits site updates have since been completed, so DASH will be formally launching this feature once fares are reinstated. • Phone Issues: The DASH Bus app is unfortunately only as good as the iOS or Android smartphone device on which it is installed. Some common issues that came up were dead batteries, lack of data connectivity and lost phones. DASH policy determined that passengers with dead batteries would not be able to board the bus since there was no way to validate their fare. Data connectivity is required for purchasing fares but not for validation. DASH received no complaints about customers who could not board buses due to data connectivity issues, which may be due in part to the relative lack of dead zones in Alexandria, and the presumably high percentage of DASH Bus app users who have a cellular data plan. Lastly, several customers had issues with lost devices, which required a manual transfer of tickets from one device to another by Customer Service staff. • Regional Integration: A common theme throughout the pilot has been a desire to grow the DASH Bus app from a DASH app to a regional app that is accepted by multiple regional providers. One of the most important criterion in the RFP scoring rubric was the ability to develop a regionwide platform, and the most frequent suggestion from our user survey was to add other regional bus providers. The pilot has further solidified the belief that the long-term success of mobile ticketing will be the ability to incorporate multiple agencies into a single platform. A regional platform would create opportunities for transfer discounts, joint passes between agencies, and even farecapping, which would ensure customers never pay more for single rides than they would for a monthly pass, a huge benefit for those individuals that are not able to front the money for a monthly pass. To this end, DASH continues to work with NVTC and several other bus and rail providers from around the region towards the goal of developing a regional mobile ticketing platform. • Moovel Acquisition by Strategic Mapping: In early 2020, DASH was informed by moovel that its owner, Daimler-Chrysler, was planning to discontinue all moovel operations in North America and to no longer support the DASH Bus app. Ultimately, moovel was acquired by another transit technology company, Strategic Mapping, and avoided going out of business, but the episode did shed light on some of the uncertainties of a relatively new mobile ticketing industry. DASH and other transit agencies should keep this in mind when setting the terms of future mobile ticketing contracts. DASH Bus Mobile App Pilot Report July 2020 14
Final Recommendations
Based on the successes of its first year and the clear benefits of a mobile ticketing platform, DASH has extended the
current DASH Bus app contract with moovel by one year through March 2021. This will provide additional time for
staff to evaluate the app, test new features, and work with other local transit providers to coordinate on a regional
mobile payment platform.
DASH will continue to work closely with NVTC and regional providers like WMATA and the Virginia Railway Express
(VRE), who are both expected to launch (or relaunch) their own mobile ticketing apps later this year. WMATA’s
long-awaited SmarTrip app will allow customers to use a virtual SmarTrip card on any bus system that accepts
regular SmarTrip cards, including DASH. This app is scheduled for release in late 2020 and could represent the first
step towards a regional platform, but partner agencies will not have the same level of flexibility and autonomy on
fare products and external partnerships as they would with the current DASH Bus app. The current VRE Mobile app
will potentially transition to a new platform in Fall 2020, and DASH has been closely involved with the procurement
process.
In addition to the need for a regional, multi-agency platform with electronic onboard validators at all doors, DASH
has also identified several app enhancements that could continue to increase the convenience and usefulness of
mobile ticketing apps in future iterations. These include:
• Better integration of trip planning and real-time bus arrival information within the app, as opposed to external
deep links;
• Real-time passenger capacity information will also be critical in the post-COVID transit world;
• Improved payment methods for unbanked customers to make cash transactions easier and more convenient (e.g.
InComm retail card network);
• Passenger rewards for frequent use (Free DASH rides, discounts to local merchants, etc);
• Collection of anonymous passenger origin/destination data for improved service planning; decision-making; and
• Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) style platform that shows multiple mobility options (bikeshares, scooters, rideshares,
etc) could also be explored.
The DASH Bus pilot has demonstrated the benefits and opportunities that can be achieved with a simple mobile
ticketing platform. With additional regional integration and the enhancements listed above, DASH and agencies
throughout the region will be able to create an invaluable app for transit riders that will significantly reduce some of
the main barriers to transit usage.
For more information about the DASH Bus App, please visit www.dashbus.com/fares or contact DASH staff at
dashbus@alexandriava.gov.
DASH Bus Mobile App Pilot Report July 2020 15You can also read
