As part of its 30th anniversary, Cleveland Area Rapid Transit is calling for city residents to leave their cars parked at home and to ride the bus today — for free.
The fourth-annual event is part of a nationwide initiative by the American Public Transportation Association to encourage public transit as an environmentally friendly and cost-effective transportation option, according to a press release.
CART spokesman Kris Glenn said a record 2,333 people participated in 2009, and officials are hoping to set a new record today.
“Everybody and their dog has ridden the bus on ‘Dump the Pump’ day the past three years,” he said. “This year, everybody and their frog needs to ride so CART can break its record.”
Glenn said the event increased CART’s average daily riders by 100 percent in 2008 and by 88 percent in 2009.
Adam Wilkey, microbiology sophomore, said he became a frequent public transit user taking the bus “on a whim” in 2009.
“It happened to be ‘Dump the Pump’ day and I thought it was so incredible to see all these people trying to be environmentally conscious,” he said.
Since then, Wilkey tries to plan around the bus schedules.
“I’m pretty much only in Norman so I can get almost everywhere really easy,” he said. “Plus, I’m saving about $100 a month in gas money. That’s so awesome to me.”
Norman Mayor Cindy Rosenthal said ‘Dump the Pump’ is a great event to build awareness about public transit and to celebrate the partnership between Norman and OU.
“CART is a leader for public transit and customer service in the state of Oklahoma, and I am proud to participate in ‘Dump the Pump,’” Rosenthal said by e-mail.
Bus rides are free from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. today. CART will give out free T-shirts and chances to win prizes, Glenn said.
CART also will celebrate its 30 years of service at 6 tonight at Andrews Park. The celebration will feature free snow cones from Eskimo Sno, free cake provided by OU Housing and Food Services and a free concert by Hosty Duo.
For a list of CART routes and schedules, visit cart.ou.edu.
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