Metro is celebrating California Clean Air Day by encouraging everyone to take transit today instead of driving with free rides on Metro Bus, Bike and Rail. In the above video, Los Angeles County Supervisor and Metro Board Member Holly Mitchell and Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins went to the E Line’s (Expo) La Brea Station this morning to encourage everyone to spare the air and give transit a try.
Metro will be offering free rides on trains until 11:59 p.m. today. Buses are currently not collecting fares. Unlock free 30-minute rides all day on Metro Bike Share with promo code 100621 (rides are $1.75 per 30 minutes thereafter).
Even one less car trip helps spare the air, and we’re also making public transit greener for better air quality. Metro’s Moving Beyond Sustainability plan is a strategy for the next decade to make Metro facilities and transit greener while reducing air pollution and trash from construction.
We’re also trying to give more people options besides driving. That’s important because — as the chart below shows — private vehicles are the largest source of greenhouse gases in California. Greenhouse gases = climate change, which is being blamed for all sorts of weather-related havoc lately (see: wildfires, floods, hurricanes, drought, etc.).
Credit: California Air Resources Board.
Among our sustainability plan’s specific goals are transitioning from compressed natural gas buses, which are fueled by Renewable Natural Gas (RNG), to a 100 percent electric bus fleet by 2030.
The change has already begun. The G Line (Orange) is now 100 percent electric and conversion of the J Line (Sliver) is in the works. The plan also calls for:
•Nearly tripling Metro’s on-site renewable energy generation by 2030.
•Reducing the agency’s total greenhouse gas emissions by 79 percent from the 2017 baseline.
•Reducing nitrogen oxide emissions — a main smog ingrediant — by 54 percent from the 2018 baseline.
So take the clean air pledge with us! Visit CleanAirDay.org to take the pledge and get more information on other ways you can help clear the air.
Categories: Policy & Funding
Uhh, no thanks. I made it work on my 15 miles on my reverse peak commute in 20 min compared to 1 hour on Metro. Get rid of Limited bus stop and not invest in Express Train service and this is the result.
Taking the train to school today though, and the trains are rolling tents as usual. . . *sigh*
MTA should start by offering excellent service, the kind that would convince most of its employees to use public transit instead of private vehicles.