Jun 18, 2009 7:36 am US/Eastern
It's "Dump The Pump" Day
Officials Want Everyone To Ditch Their Cars For One Day
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
Sabrina McCombs does not need Dump the Pump Day to convince her to ride mass transit.
The Broward County resident works in West Palm Beach and said a car ride to her office costs her a 1/4 tank of gas. Instead, she relies on Tri-Rail and saves $100 a month.
"I think it's great because it's also helping the environment," McCombs told
CBS 4's Carey Codd. "It's much cheaper than gas and I get to read and study on the train."
The 4th annual Dump the Pump Day encourages people to leave the car at home and ride a bus, train or bike to work. It's a national effort spearheaded by the American Public Transportation Association. The APTA estimates people can save $8,000 a year by using mass transit.
"With gas prices increasing 33% since December, coupled with uncertain economic times, people have been looking for ways to save and riding public transportation is a great choice to make," said APTA President William Millar in a statement. "The National Dump the Pump Day on June 18 is an opportunity for people across the country to make a difference in their wallet, as well as in the environment."
According to the APTA in 2008, 10.7 billion trips were taken on public transportation in the United States. This was a 52-year high, marking a modern ridership record. Public transportation use is up 38 percent since 1995--almost triple the growth rate of the population (14 percent).
Jennifer Rock is a college student in Davie who rides the bus each day. She saves money and believes in protecting the environment. However, she would prefer a car ride which would save her lots of time.
"Normally it would take 25 minutes to get out to Davie, maybe 30 in traffic (in a car). But it takes an hour and a half with two buses to get from Ft. Lauderdale to Davie," she said. "It's getting hectic because it's so long. I'm tired of it."
Other commuters say South Florida's geography doesn't help. They say since South Florida is so spread out, in many cases a person must drive to access mass transit.
Click Here for more information on the South Florida Dump the Pump effort.
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