APTA: Second Annual National Dump the Pump Day to be Held Thursday, June 21 -- Help the Environment; Take Public Transit

News Release

June 18, 2007

Virginia Miller
202-496-4816
vmiller@apta.com

More than 100 public transportation agencies nationwide will be participating in the Second Annual 2007 National Dump the Pump Day on Thursday, June 21. Sponsored by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), 2007 National Dump the Pump Day is a public awareness day that emphasizes the environmental benefits of using public transportation. The day also offers the opportunity for people to beat the high price of gasoline and support public transportation as an important travel option that helps reduce our nation’s dependence on oil.

“The 2007 National Dump the Pump Day is a public awareness day that emphasizes the environmental benefits of using public transportation,” said APTA President William W. Millar. “It is also a day for people across the country to make a difference as they conserve gasoline and help our environment.”

U.S. public transportation systems help to create a healthier environment by reducing smog-producing pollutants and greenhouse gases. Public transportation produces nearly 50 percent less carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide per passenger mile, as private vehicles. In addition, U.S. public transportation systems save 1.4 billion gallons of gasoline every year, the equivalent of 108 million cars filling up in a year.

“Taking transit saves oil and cuts air pollution,” said Deron Lovaas, Vehicles Campaign Director, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). “This is a day to celebrate efficient transportation choices and to press for bigger investment in transit, clean cars and clean fuel.” The NRDC is one of the nation’s most effective environmental groups.

Transit systems are participating in a variety of ways. Some are offering free rides or half-fare rides, holding contests, giving away t-shirts or having “open houses” with picnic food. Others are offering grocery store shopping sprees, contests for one-year bus passes, and others are encouraging people, on the first day of summer, when the ozone season gears up, to increase awareness of our environment and use public transit.

In 2006, there were 10.1 billion trips taken on public transportation, the highest in 49 years.

Public transit use is up 30 percent since 1995. That is more than double the growth rate of the population (12 percent) and higher than the growth rate for the vehicle miles traveled on our roads (24 percent) during that same period.

The number of participating public transportation agencies is growing every day. Below is the current list of agencies participating in the 2007 National Dump the Pump Day:

Akron, OH -- METRO Regional Transit Authority
Albany, NY -- Capital District Transportation Authority
Ann Arbor, MI -- Ann Arbor Transportation Authority
Atlanta, GA – Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority
Austin, TX -- Capital Metro
Baltimore, MD -- Maryland Transit Administration
Benicia, CA -- Benicia Transit
Birmingham, AL -- Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority
Boston, MA – Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
Bremerton, WA -- Kitsap Transit
Bridgeport, CT -- Greater Bridgeport Transit Authority
Broward County, FL -- Broward County Transit
Bullhead City, NV -- Bullhead Area Transit
Butler, PA -- Butler Township- City Joint Municipal Transit Authority
Canton, OH -- Stark Area Regional Transit Authority
Cedar Buff, VA -- Four County Transit
Charlotte, NC -- Charlotte Area Transit System
Chicago, IL -- Regional Transportation Authority of Northeastern Illinois
Cincinnati, OH -- Metro
Clemson, SC -- Clemson Area Transit
Colorado Springs, CO -- Mountain Metropolitan Transit
Corpus Christi, TX -- Corpus Christi Regional Authority
Denver, CO -- Regional Transportation District
Des Moines, IA -- Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority
Detroit, MI -- Detroit People Mover
Eden Prairie, MN -- SouthWest Transit
El Paso, TX -- El Paso Mass Transit Department
Everett, WA -- Community Transit
Fort Myers, FL -- Lee Tran
Fort Wayne, IN - Citilink
Fort Worth, TX -- Fort Worth Transportation Authority
Fort Wright, KY -- Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky
Frederick, MD -- Frederick Transit Authority
Gainesville, GA -- Hall Area Transit
Gainesville, FL -- Regional Transit System
Hampton Roads, VA -- Hampton Roads Transit
Harrisburg, PA -- Pennsylvania Public Transportation Association
Honolulu, Hawaii -- City and County of Honolulu
Hutchinson, KS -- Reno County Public Transportation Department
Indianapolis, IN -- IndyGo
Johnstown, PA -- Cambria County Transit Authority
Kalamazoo, MI -- Kalamazoo Metro Transit
Kansas City, MO -- Kansas City Transportation Authority
Key West, FL -- City of Key West, Dept. of Transportation
Knoxville, TN -- Knoxville Area Transit
Lancaster, PA -- Red Rose Transit Authority
Laughlin, NV -- The Silver Rider
Lawrence, KS -- Lawrence Transit System
Logan, UT -- Logan Transit
Long Beach, CA -- Long Beach Transit
Los Angeles, CA -- Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation
Louisville, KY -- Transit Authority of River City
Madison, WI -- Metro Transit
Miami, FL -- Miami-Dade Transit
Modesto, CA -- City of Modesto Area Express
Mobile, AL -- The Wave Transit System
Monroe County, CA – Monroe County Transit Authority
Monterey, CA -- Monterey-Salinas Transit
Muncie, IN -- Muncie Indiana Transit System
Nantucket, MA – Nantucket Regional Transit Authority
Nashville, TN -- Nashville Metropolitan Transit Authority
Olympia, WA -- Intercity Transit
Orange County, CA -- Orange County Transit Authority
Oxnard, CA -- Gold Coast Area Transit
Paducah, KY -- Paducah Transit Authority
Philadelphia, PA -- Southern Pennsylvania Transit Authority
Pittsburgh, PA -- Port Authority of Allegheny County
Pompano Beach, FL -- South Florida Regional Transportation Authority
Pompano Beach, FL -- Broward County Transit
Providence, RI -- Rhode Island Public Transit Authority
Research Triangle Park, NC -- Triangle Transit Authority
Richland, WA -- Ben Franklin Transit
Richmond, VA – GRTC Transit System
Riverside, CA -- Riverside Transit Agency
Rockville, MD -- Ride On, Montgomery County Transit
Sacramento, CA -- Sacramento Regional Transit District
San Antonio, TX -- VIA Metropolitan Transit
San Carlos, CA -- SamTrans/Caltrain Marketing
Santa Clara County, CA -- Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
San Diego, CA -- Metropolitan Transit System
Santa Fe, NM -- Santa Fe Trails
San Francisco/Oakland, CA – Bay Area Rapid Transit
San Jose, CA -- San Jose Transit Authority
Santa Monica, CA --- Big Blue Bus
Scotrun, PA -- Monroe County Transit Authority
Seattle, WA -- King County Metro
South Daytona, FL -- VOTRAN
Springfield, MO -- City Utilities
St. Louis, MO -- Metro
State College, PA -- Centre Area Transportation Authority
Stockton, CA -- San Joaquin Regional Transit District
Tacoma, WA -- Pierce Transit
Tampa, FL -- Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority
Toledo, OH -- Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority
Topeka, KS -- Topeka Metropolitan Transit Authority
Tucson, AZ -- Sun Tran
Tulsa, OK -- Metropolitan Tulsa Transit Authority
Washington, DC -- Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Waukesha , WI -- Waukesha Metro Transit
West Palm Beach, FL -- Palm Tran, Inc.
Wilmington, NC -- Cape Fear Public Transportation Authority - Wave Transit
Wilmington, DE -- Delaware Transit Corporation
York County, PA -- Rabbittransit

Association participants include:

Transportation Association of Maryland
Illinois Public Transportation Association
Ohio Public Transit Association
Colorado Association of Transit Agencies
Kansas Public Transit Association
Michigan Public Transit Association
Missouri Public Transit Association
New York Public Transit Association
Pennsylvania Public Transportation Association
Georgia Transit Association
Virginia Transit Association

PUBLIC TRANSIT FACTS FOR NATIONAL DUMP THE PUMP DAY

Environmental Conservation:

Public transportation use can help reduce pollution and promote cleaner air.
Public transportation produces 95 percent less carbon monoxide (CO), 90 percent less in volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and nearly 50 percent less carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen oxide (NOx), per passenger mile than private vehicles.
Energy-related carbon dioxide emissions represent 82 percent of total U.S. man-made greenhouse emissions.

Energy Conservation - Reducing National Dependence on Foreign Oil:

Each year, public transportation use in the U.S. saves 1.4 billion gallons of gasoline. This represents almost 4 million gallons of gasoline per day.
Public transportation use saves the equivalent of 300,000 fewer automobile fill-ups every day - 108 million fewer cars filling up annually.
Each year, public transportation use saves the equivalent of 34 supertankers of oil, or a supertanker leaving the Middle East every 11 days.
Each year, public transportation use saves the equivalent of 140,769 service station tanker truck trips clogging our streets.
The typical public transit rider consumes, on average, one half of the oil consumed by an automobile rider.

Public Transportation Ridership:

In 2006, Americans took 10.1 billion trips on public transportation - the highest ridership level in 49 years.
34 million times each weekday, people board public transportation.
From 1995 through 2006, public transportation ridership increased by 30 percent, a growth rate higher than the 12 percent increase in US population and higher than the 24 percent growth in use of the nation's highways over the same period.

Individual Cost Savings:

Public transportation provides an affordable, and for many, necessary alternative to driving.
Each year public transportation households save over $1,399 worth of gas.
Transit availability can reduce the need for an additional car, a yearly expense of $6,251 in a household budget.
The average household spends 18 cents per dollar on transportation, and 94 percent of this goes to buying, maintaining and operating cars.
Americans living in areas served by public transportation save $18 billion annually in congestion costs.

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