You Are Hereby Asked to Dump the Pump

Hopefully we can catch you before you're out the door this morning, convince you to “dump the pump” and instead jump onto public transportation to get around.

]

That's because today is the American Public Transportation Association's “National Dump the Pump Day,” which urges people to give public transportation a try. According to the association, noteworthy benefits include:

1) Public transportation is the final link in a truly multi-modal transportation network that our country and our city needs.

2) It helps the economy by creating jobs and lessening congestion on our roadways.

3) It helps motorists save money on gas and delay car repairs. APTA's Transit Saving Report revealed that a two-person household can save, on average, more than $10,174 per year by downsizing to one car and utilizing their city's transit options more often.

The association cites a 2013 America THINKS survey from HNTB Corp. that revealed 76 percent of Americans are open to taking public transportation over driving–up seven percent from when that question was asked in 2010. Of those who would opt to do so, 41 percent cited high gas prices as the reason.

Now, I have it on good authority from someone in the regional public transportation game that Orange County's system is perceived to be a joke. Besides getting today's message out to potential riders, the American Public Transportation Association wants to enlighten those providing the rides. Again, the recent survey shows 51 percent would hop on if public transit was conveniently located.

“Successful communities in Southern California,” says the association, “can only thrive when there is a healthy mix of transportation choices.”

Email: mc****@oc******.com. Twitter: @MatthewTCoker. Follow OC Weekly on Twitter @ocweekly or on Facebook!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *