National Dump the Pump Day

Tomorrow is the third annual, national Dump the Pump Day in which transit agencies nationwide are urging people to take public transit, save gas and help save the environment.

 If you’ve never tried METRO before, it’s a good day to take a ride – and then make a commitment to ride public transit one day a week.

 Sponsored by the American Public Transportation Association(APTA), the 2008 National Dump the Pump Day is promoting public transit – and taking a bus or train to work is one of the fastest ways to ease the pain of high gas prices.

 “With gas prices higher than ever and financial concerns affecting everyone, now is the time to save money and ride public transportation,” said APTA President WilliamW. Millar, in a statement. “The National Dump the Pump Day on June 19 is an opportunity for people across the country to make a difference in their wallet as well as in the environment.”

 Here’s how individual households can make a difference:

·     Householdsthat use public transit save more than $1,399 a year in gas.

• Taking transit can reduce your need for a second car, an annual expense of $6,251.
•  The average household spends 18 cents per dollar on transportation, and 94 percent of that goes to buying, maintaining and operating cars
• Those who live in areas served by public transportation save $18 billion annually in congestion costs.

Considerthe following savings on a national level:

·     Public transit use saves 1.4 billion gallons of gas every year – or almost 4 million gallons of gas every day.

• Mass transit saves the equivalent of 300,000 fewer auto fill-ups every day, or 108 million fewer cars filling up every year.
• Every year, public transit use saves the equivalent of 34 supertankers of oil, or a supertanker leaving the Middle East every 11 days.

And then there’s the environmental impact of public transit:

·     Public transit reduces carbon emissions by 37 million metric tons annually. That would be the same reduction if every household in New York City, Washington, D.C.,Atlanta, Denver and Los Angeles completely stopped using electricity.

• Those who live within one-quarter mile of rail or one-tenth of a mile from a bus stop drive about 4,400 fewer miles every year compared to those with no access to public transit. This equates to using 223 gallons of gas less per year.

 Still not convinced?

 Try our commute calculator that tells you how much you spend driving versus taking METRO. 

And if you’ve never taken METRO before, use our Trip Planner to navigate your ride, or call our Customer Service center at 713-635-4000.

 If you’re already a METRO rider, we’d like to hear from you. Tell us how taking public transit has helped your household budget. Do you hop on the bus to save money or to reduce your carbon footprint?