Free Rides for Bay Area Commuters on June 19

Air District, MTC Team with 30 Transit Partners as Spare the Air Program Takes New Approach

OAKLAND, CA — Bay Area commuters can circle next Thursday, June 19, on their calendars and start planning a free trip on transit. June 19 is the only day this year that the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (Air District) and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) will provide free rides on 30 of the region’s transit systems. Transit will be free all day on Bay Area bus and light-rail systems, and until 12 noon on BART, Caltrain, Altamont Commuter Express (ACE) and Amtrak Capitol Corridor trains, and on the Golden Gate, Alameda-Oakland, Alameda-Harbor Bay and Vallejo Baylink ferries. This marks Capitol Corridor’s first year of participation in the Bay Area’s free transit promotion. To plan your trip on transit, go to www.511.org, click on “Transit” and just type in your starting location and your destination.

The June 19 date for free Bay Area transit coincides with the third annual “Dump the Pump” day, a national promotion sponsored by the American Public Transportation Association to encourage the use of transit.

The Air District has declared today a Spare the Air Day. The single free-ride day reflects a major expansion of the Spare the Air program into a comprehensive campaign focused on reducing emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollution every day. The goal of the free transit day is to have residents try transit June 19 and then stick with it. Cars are the Bay Area’s number-one source of both air pollution and greenhouse gases, and taking transit is one of the everyday choices residents can make to improve the environment. Each gallon of gas saved by taking transit eliminates the emission of 20 pounds of carbon dioxide.

The following Bay Area transit partners are participating in the June 19 Free Transit incentive:

AC Transit
ACE
Alameda-Harbor Bay Ferry
Alameda-Oakland Ferry
Air BART
BART
Benicia Breeze
Caltrain
Capitol Corridor
Cloverdale Transit
County Connection (CCCTA)
Dumbarton Express
Fairfield/Suisun Transit
Golden Gate Transit & Ferry (GGBHTD)
Healdsburg Transit
Wheels (LAVTA)

Marin County Transit

MUNI
Napa VINE

American Canyon Shuttle

St. Helena Shuttle

Yountville Shuttle
Petaluma Transit
Rio Vista Delta Breeze
SamTrans
Santa Rosa CityBus
Sonoma County Transit
Tri Delta Transit
Union City Transit
Vacaville City Coach
Vallejo Transit and Baylink Ferry
VTA
WestCat

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District (www.baaqmd.gov) is the regional agency chartered with protecting air quality in the Bay Area. For more information about Spare the Air, visit www.sparetheair.org.

MTC (www.mtc.ca.gov) is the transportation planning, coordinating and financing agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area.

Contacts:

John Goodwin, MTC: (415) 778-5262

Lisa Fasano, Air District: (415) 749-4900