In a bold move to curb motor vehicle emissions, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD), the Metropolitan Transportation (MTC), and the Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) are offering free rides on BART during the 2004 smog season (from June 21 to October 15). On the first five weekdays for which Spare the Air alerts are issued by BAAQMD, BART passengers will ride free when they enter a station by 9:00 a.m.
BAAQMD issues a Spare the Air alert the day before ground-level ozone is expected to exceed the health-based national ozone standards. Ozone is a pollutant formed in the atmosphere from the chemical reaction between volatile organic compounds and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) in the presence of sunlight. On calm, sunny days, ozone and its precursor compounds are not dispersed by air currents, but accumulate at ground level. On these days, Bay Area residents are asked to curtail pollution-causing activities. Because cars are the primary source of NOx, using transit instead of driving solo is a good way to "spare the air."
To focus attention on the campaign, BART has wrapped seven cars in eye-catching, deep blue signs reading "Spare the Air, Ride BART" that contrast sharply with the silvery color of the rest of the train. These decorated cars, the first ever for BART, will be used mainly on the Pittsburg/Bay Point and the Dublin/Pleasanton lines. BAAQMD and BART staff created the wrap as well as other signage placed at all BART stations.
Riders who get free morning commute trips on Spare the Air days will have to pay the fare to ride home in the evening, but they will still get a bargain. A one-way fare compares favorably with the cost of gas, bridge tolls and parking fees. The average BART trip is 13 miles long and costs $2.65. Fares range from a minimum of $1.25 to $6.05 for the fare from Pittsburg/Bay Point to Millbrae.
The program is expected to cost about $2 million. Most of the funding for this historic partnership, $1.78 million, will be provided from Federal Congestion Mitigation for Air Quality (CMAQ) funds administered by MTC. The Transportation Fund for Clean Air (TFCA), administered by BAAQMD, will provide the remaining $220,000. TFCA money is generated by a surcharge on motor vehicle registration fees collected in the nine Bay Area counties by the Department of Motor Vehicles and returned to the area of origin.
Since the BART program is a component of its 2004 Spare the Air effort, the BAAQMD is publicizing the free-ride program with postcards and flyers, and providing administrative services. BART is concentrating on encouraging new people to ride BART. To measure increased Spare the Air ridership and determine if goals are met, BART will use methods that have been proven to be accurate, yet will not confuse or intimidate riders who are not familiar with the system.
Free public transit rides to improve air quality have been offered before, but not on this scale. In the Bay Area, the Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority, which operates Wheels buses, increased ridership by 15-17 percent when it offered free rides on Spare the Air days during the 2003 smog season. The program will be repeated in 2004.
Other small-scale programs in various parts of the country have offered free rides, but not on a regional scale. With 100,000 commuters riding BART in the morning, this free ride program is the most ambitious in the United States, said BAAQMD's Teresa Lee.
Adelia Sabiston