By Daily Press staff
Santa Monica this week will join a coast-to-coast event to encourage the public to park their cars and ride transit to beat the high cost of driving.
In response to escalating gas prices, the city of Santa Monica’s Big Blue Bus plans to join with other public transportation agencies across the country on June 8 for “National Dump the Pump Day.” The day will be dedicated to raising awareness about the benefits of using public transportation to beat high gas prices.
The American Public Transportation Association (APTA), a non-profit association of more than 1,600 member organizations, including almost 400 public transit agencies, is sponsoring National Dump the Pump Day.
“Using public transit is by far the easiest way to get around town affordably,” said Stephanie Negriff, director of transit services for the Big Blue Bus. “We hope the increased attention will attract people who haven’t ridden public transit before, and also people who have been considering alternating driving with taking transit.”
Negriff invited city and other public officials to show their support of public transportation by riding an area bus or rail line on June 8.
According to the APTA: ■ By getting rid of a car and using transit instead to commute to work, a person would save between $3,300 and $11,100 annually. ■ Transit use saves more than 855 million gallons of gasoline every year. ■ During the past 10 years, U.S. public transportation use has grown at a faster rate than highway travel.
To commemorate National Dump the Pump Day and encourage transit ridership, Big Blue Bus drivers will hand out special “I Dumped the Pump”stickers. Information on Big Blue Bus fares, destinations, routes, links to other transit agencies, and other rider services can be found at www.bigbluebus.com. Information on the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) can be found at www.apta.com.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 6, 2006. Read the original PDF.