L.A. County Transit Officials Want You to Ditch Your Car Thursday

Local transit officials want residents to ditch their cars tomorrow and instead jump on a bus, train or other mass transit option in recognition of National Dump the Pump Day.     

"Every day, Metro puts 2,000 buses on our streets and trains on 88 miles of light rail and subway tracks," said Metro board chair Diane DuBois. "There is a very good chance that Metro has a transportation alternative that works for you."

Dump the Pump Day is held annually in an effort to highlight the cost savings of using mass transit versus driving. Citing statistics from the American Public Transportation Association, Metro officials said the annual cost of driving a car -- including insurance, maintenance, parking and wear and tear -- is more than $10,000 a year. Using transit can save commuters 75 percent off that cost, according to Metro.

The agency, which oversees transit operations across the county, noted that it has more than 1,300 vanpool vehicles  in operation, helping to take nearly 7,000 cars off the road each day.

"Vanpool passengers save time and money and benefit by not having wear and tear on their personal vehicles driving to work and back every day," Metro CEO Art Leahy said. "In terms of reducing carbon footprint, we estimate that taking people out of their cars and putting them into vanpools reduces carbon emissions by nearly 4,000 metric tons in L.A. County each month."

—City News Service