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Both WTOP and the Examiner are reporting that free bus rides in Northern Virginia on Code Red air quality days will be a thing of the past this summer. The Northern Virginia Transportation Commission this week voted to end the program, in place since 1999, that offered free bus rides around Northern Virginia to help reduce vehicle emissions on days of critical air quality. The reason? Duh, it's too expensive, costing Northern Virginia over $2.5 million a year. It looks like some Maryland counties, however, including Montgomery, Prince George’s and Frederick, will continue the program this summer from May 1 through Sept. 15.
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Don't worry folks we Virginians will stay home on Code Red days.
I've never understood how this is supposed to be helpful. It's a Code Red day, so car commuters are going to be enticed by a free bus ride - thus cutting down on emissions? Fat chance. "Hey folks, you can save $1.25 and a little gas money - all you have to do is wait 20 minutes for a bus and probably triple your commute time! C'mon, it's for the environment! Oh and it will be 98 degrees while you stand at the bus stop. Oh and probably 102 degrees inside the bus."
I guess it's a nice giveaway to those taking the bus already - but that's no help to the environment. Free Metro station parking would probably work better, but a) we KNOW they're too broke for that, b) those lots are always full anyway and c) the fragile system can't handle it on a regular work day.
Exactly. People who are riding the bus for free are already going to be riding the bus. I never saw the point of the program beyond the idea of, "Hey, it's hot out, so it'd be nice if I didn't have to pay."
Okaaay, that responded to the wrong person. That was supposed to go to Kev29.
According to the article, ridership rose 4-8% on Code Red days.
But I guess it's just easier to assume......
Maybe ridership rose those days because people who usually walk took the bus instead? I certainly hate to walk when it is hot as all hell.
Thanks for the reminder about Code Red air quality days ... its not as if I wasn't already fearing the return of DC summer.
(You know ... crappy and unhealthy air. sweat showers on the way to work. malfunctioning A/C systems on the metro trains. walking outside into an oven of oppressive heat. walking home at the end of the day with hot, sticky, gritty skin. power outages at night, waking up with a dehydration headache and in a pool of my own sweat.)
super.
The nice thing about cooler weather is that people on the bus don't smell quite as bad. I'm not sure what I like less about Summer bus rides... The heat or the aroma.