59 The Tampa Downtown Partnership’s DASH service has had a successful first year of operation in downtown Tampa’s Special Services District. Recently released statistics show that in one year since its launch, the nonprofit Tampa Downtown Partnership’s DASH (Downtown Area Shared Hubs) service has transformed how people get around downtown Tampa’s seven neighborhoods, with driver-ambassadors completing 30,000 rides and covering 88,500 miles in their iconic yellow Tesla Model Y SUVs. Those rides include service after Hurricanes Helene and Milton, when gas was scarce, and riders relied on the all-electric Tesla vehicles for vital transportation. Since launching on October 12, 2023, 41,022 passengers completed 30,004 rides, with an average ride distance of 1.07 miles. The driver-ambassadors have covered 88,500 miles. The driver-ambassador time in the community amounted to a whopping 23,140 hours. The customer satisfaction rating of 4.95 out of five stars adds another element to the success of the program. Priced at $2 per person, DASH rides are requested using the ‘DASH Tampa’ smartphone app on an iPhone or Android phone. Uniformed, background-checked driver-ambassadors carry riders between around 20 hubs in Tampa’s downtown while also serving as mobile ‘eyes and ears’ for safety in the community. “We’ve seen an increase in rides, month over month, since we launched DASH. The service is growing because people see how it can connect them to the places they need to go and to each other,” said Shaun Drinkard, senior vice president of operations for the Tampa Downtown Partnership. “Our one-year statistics show how DASH is delivering as a great complement to all the other transportation options the Tampa Downtown Partnership advocates for every day, including the TECO Line Streetcar, HART buses, bikes, scooters and more,” said Tampa Downtown Partnership President and CEO Kenyetta Hairston-Bridges. DASH is a revolutionary ‘micro-transit’ service that operates entirely within downtown Tampa’s Special Services District. The app will pair up to four passengers to share each hub-to-hub trip. DASH operates Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m.-11 p.m. and on Sunday from 12 Noon-9 p.m. To learn more, visit www.tampasdowntown.com/dash/. Share