Hollywood Stops Added to DASH Bus Real-Time Info

Riders who use the city's Community DASH bus service in 14 neighborhoods are now able to get real-time information regarding the routes on their phones, by text or online, the city's Department of Transportation announced Wednesday.

Riders have been able to get real-time information about the whereabouts and expected arrival times of downtown DASH buses for the past two years.

The addition of the 14 new routes cost the city about $600,000. Thirteen Community DASH routes remain without real-time tracking.

LADOT General Manager Jaime de la Vega said the department "is committed to making it easier to ride our buses.'

The real-time monitoring also allows the department to measure the performances of its bus routes and make adjustments to improve them.

The DASH bus lines take about 22 million riders across downtown and 27 other neighborhoods each year.

Riders can check the status of DASH buses in three ways: online at www.ladotbus.com, by texting "ladot' and the bus stop number located on the sign to 41411, or by dialing (213) 785-3858.

The new Community DASH routes on the real-time system are:

-- Beachwood Canyon;

-- Crenshaw;

-- Fairfax;

-- Highland Park/Eagle Rock;

-- Hollywood;

-- Hollywood/Wilshire;

-- King-East;

-- Leimert/Slauson;

-- Lincoln Heights/Chinatown;

-- Los Feliz;

-- Midtown;

-- Observatory Shuttle;

-- Southeast; and

-- Wilshire Center/Koreatown.

The department last year completed a two- year fare increase for DASH buses. Fares rose to $0.50 for most riders, up from $0.25 in 2010.

The system is funded primarily by a 1980 half-cent sales tax increase approved by voters to fund public transit. Those funds have been down significantly during the Great Recession.

LADOT had never raised DASH fares prior to 2010 and has no plans to further raise fares, department spokesman Jonathan Hui said.