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GRAND RAPIDS - The city sees the Downtown Area Shuttle (DASH) as a driving force in the transportation future for the central business district, and for good reason. But the prospects for DASH South and DASH West, and possibly a third route, are somewhat uncertain right now as the service is tied to future development downtown.
For the present, though, DASH has had some dynamic growth over the last three-plus years. Total passengers have swelled from slightly more than 216,700 in 1998 to well over 331,000 last year for a 53 percent increase in riders. (See related chart.)
"DASH has done really quite well," said Ted Perez, longtime director of Parking Services, the city department running the shuttle. "The numbers speak for themselves."
DASH West has outperformed DASH South, even though the South route got off to a better start when the service began in April 1998. But it only took West a year to catch and pass the South's ridership total. Passengers for the West route have grown by a phenomenal 147 percent since then, while riders for DASH South have slipped by 9 percent.
"It's not a precipitous fall, but when you compare it to DASH West, it really stands out," said Perez. "It's about 3 percent a year in average annual decline."
Still, the system has averaged a 17 percent gain of passengers each year, a trend the city certainly hopes will continue. But other factors, unrelated to the service, will have a big say in whether it does.
Take DASH South, for instance. Its starting point is a cityowned parking lot known as Area 6 that runs...