Note: This release was updated 4/20/07 to include Community Transit and Pierce Transits as additional transit providers offering free-ride services for Earth Day.

Take a ride for free this Earth Day on Sound Transit and help do your part to improve air quality and see the sights this Sunday, April 22. Sound Transit will offer free rides on its network of ST Express Regional buses serving destinations throughout central Puget Sound all day and night Sunday.

"Everyday, Sound Transit's network of buses, trains and light rail takes thousands of cars off the road by providing more than 43,000 riders with a safe, convenient way to get where they want to go," said Sound Transit Board Chairman and Pierce County Executive John Ladenburg. "This Sunday, we'll celebrate the environmental benefits of taking transit and hopefully gain even more riders."

Last year Sound Transit carried more than 12 million riders – a nine-percent increase over 2006. 

Route and schedule information can be obtained by calling 888-889-6368/888-713-6030 TTY or online>>>

You’ll not only get a free ride on our comfortable and convenient services, you’ll also be doing your part in protecting our most valuable resource.

The free ride promotion, in conjunction with Community Transit, Everett Transit, King County Metro Transit, Pierce Transit and Sound Transit, is meant to introduce people to the value of public transportation as well as reward customers who already use the service.

Reasons to ride*:

• Emissions from road vehicles are the largest contributors to smog.
• Public transportation produced 95 percent less carbon monoxide (Co), 90 percent less in volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and about half as much carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) per passenger mile, as private vehicles.
• Riders who focused on saving fuel discovered other benefits of taking public transportation, such as avoiding traffic jams and reading or relaxing while traveling.
• Public transportation has lower accident rates than automobiles. Public transit has 0.03 fatal accidents per 100 million miles, about 1/25th the rate for automobiles; injuries as well as fatalities are reduced.
• Public transportation fosters a more active lifestyle. Walking to and from transit helps inactive persons attain a significant portion of recommended minimum daily exercise they need.
• Public transportation fosters more livable communities; encourages neighborhood interaction. Contact with neighbors tends to increase, ultimately helping to bring a community together. Transit friendly communities also promote more physical activity.
• Americans living in areas served by public transportation save $18 billion annually in congestion costs.
• Transit riders also save about $1,400 in gas per year.
• Transit availability can reduce the need for an additional car, a yearly expense of $6,251 in a household budget.
• For every dollar earned, the average household spends 18 cents on transportation, 94 percent of which is for buying, maintaining and operating cars.

In November the region’s residents will have the chance to increase Sound Transit’s environmental benefits with a vote on major expansions of light rail, Sounder station and ST Regional Express bus services as part of the Roads & Transit ballot measure. The plan would expand light rail services across a regional system stretching more than 60 miles, adding fast, frequent and reliable service to the Bellevue, Redmond, Northgate, Shoreline, Mountlake Terrace, Lynnwood, Des Moines, Federal Way and Tacoma areas.

*From: Public Transportation: Benefits for the 21st Century, 2007, American Public Transportation Association. 
 

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Sound Transit’s regional network of express buses, commuter rail, light rail and transit facilities connects communities in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties.