Free Rides on April 21

Although Earth Day is officially the day after, we are celebrating a day earlier by charging no fare on all buses and BTaccess service on Saturday, April 21! Riding and supporting public transportation is one of the most effective actions you can take to conserve energy. Since riding on Transit means that you are leaving your own car or truck at home, you will be helping reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, while also reducing your own carbon footprint. Here are some insightful facts about the use of buses instead of personal vehicles:

• A bus with as few as seven passengers is more fuel-efficient than the average single-occupant auto used for commuting
• The fuel efficiency of a fully occupied bus is six times greater than that of the average single-occupant auto
• In terms of energy consumption per passenger mile (energy used to transport one passenger one mile), transit is more energy efficient
• Buses use less energy per passenger mile than a typical automobile
• Public transit moves people efficiently while producing significantly less air pollution to move one passenger one mile — compared to moving a person one mile in a single-occupant auto
• Buses emit less carbon monoxide per passenger mile than a single-occupant auto
• Buses emit less hydrocarbons per passenger mile than a single-occupant auto (hydrocarbons are VOCs – an ozone precursor)
• Buses emit only 75% as many nitrogen oxides (another ozone precursor) per passenger mile as a single-occupant auto

Public transportation in the U.S. saves several millions of metric tons of carbon emissions and a few billion gallons of gasoline every year. If you drive, check out this carbon savings calculator HERE to see how you can help the planet by taking Transit instead of driving your own vehicle. When it comes to our environment, riding public transit makes a big difference.