Press Releases

For Immediate Release

Committees Vote to Extend Spare the Air/Free Transit Campaign

New Funding Doubles Original Free Transit Offer

Contacts:
John Goodwin, MTC 510.520.6853
Jack Colbourn, Air District 415.749.4900

OAKLAND, Calif., July 12, 2006 . . . Bay Area travelers will get up to three more chances to ride buses, trains and ferries free of charge on non-holiday weekday Spare the Air days during the remainder of the 2006 summer smog season, thanks to actions taken today by members of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC).

MTC’s Administration Committee and Programming & Allocations Committee authorized a $5.3 million allocation of State Transit Assistance (STA) funds to extend the Spare the Air/Free Transit program sponsored by MTC and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. The new STA funding — combined with more than $980,000 left over from the initial three-day 2006 Spare the Air/Free Transit promotion — makes available more than $6 million to provide free travel on 25 participating Bay Area transit agencies all day on the next three Spare the Air days.

The Air District typically issues Spare the Air advisories on hot, windless days that can lead to the buildup of unhealthy concentrations of ground-level ozone; and t he free transit offer is designed to get drivers out of their cars on such days. Transit ridership on June 22, June 23 and June 26 — the first three Spare the Air days declared by the Air District this summer — surged by an average of 10 percent regionwide. Estimated Spare the Air ridership figures for each participating transit agency can be viewed here .

Bay Area residents can register online at www.sparetheair.org to receive Spare the Air alerts via e-mail. To learn more about the Spare the Air/Free Fare program, to plan your trip on transit, or to view a list of all participating Bay Area transit agencies, go to www.511.org.

MTC is the transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area. The Bay Area Quality Management District (www.baaqmd.gov) is the regional agency chartered with protecting air quality in the Bay Area.

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