Press Releases

For Immediate Release

No Free Rides on Bay Area Transit Services If Spare the Air Day Declared July 9 or July 10

Transit Operators Cite All-Star Game Security Concerns, Passenger Loads

CONTACTS:
John Goodwin, MTC, 510.817.5862
Terry Lee, MTC, 510.817.5952

Due to heightened security requirements around AT&T Park in San Francisco and expected heavy passenger loads on many transit systems during Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game festivities, Bay Area transit operators will not provide free rides if the Bay Area Air Quality Management District declares a Spare the Air Day on Monday, July 9 or Tuesday, July 10. This modification of the 2007 Spare the Air/Free Transit program was announced today by the Air District and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC).

“We’re really proud that San Francisco is playing host to the All-Star Game on July 10,” said Amy Worth, vice chair of MTC’s Planning Committee. “We want to show the Bay Area at its best, and that includes providing adequate transit resources for the thousands of visitors who will be coming from across the country and around the world. Several transit agencies expressed serious concerns about their ability to meet schedules and maintain normal operations if the additional demand created by the All-Star Game festivities coincided with the extra passenger loads typically associated with a Spare the Air/Free Transit Day.”

This year’s Spare the Air/Free Transit program officially began June 1, with MTC and the Air District committing a combined $8.5 million to sponsor free rides on 29 Bay Area transit systems the first four times the Air District issues a Spare the Air advisory on a non-holiday weekday. The Air District has not yet issued a Spare the Air advisory this summer.

Free transit will be available all day on Bay Area bus and light-rail systems, and until 1 p.m. on BART, Caltrain, Altamont Commuter Express and ferries. Limiting free rides on rail and ferry services to the morning commute will help alleviate the overcrowding, service delays and security issues experienced in 2006 while still providing an incentive to ride transit and reduce cold engine emissions in the morning hours. For more information about the 2007 Spare the Air/Free Transit program, visit www.511.org.

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

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