According to the U.S. Department of Energy, to fill up one’s car with regular gas costs about $2.86 per gallon. That number has been higher in the past, but it is still pretty expensive especially for people who commute. What can be done to ease the frustration of paying too much for gas?

Well, maybe taking the advice of SolTrans and the American Public Transportation Association: dump the pump.

Tomorrow, SolTrans will be one of many public agencies across the country taking part in APTA’s 11th Annual National Dump the Pump Day, which encourages people to take public transportation to work instead of driving. The goal is to highlight the economic benefits of taking public transportation.

“In 2015, Americans took 10.6 billion trips on public transportation – the third highest in 10 years!” SolTrans Program Analyst Mandi Renshaw said in a statement. “There are many benefits of taking public transportation that include cost and convenience, as well as the impact on the environment. On this day we wanted to reward our riders who use it daily and encourage new riders to take transit. On June 16, SolTrans is excited to say ‘Dump the Pump, Ride Public Transit!’ to our community.”

All day tomorrow, SolTrans will be offering free rides on all its local routes but not express routes. Customers on local routes will not have to use their Clipper card or SolTrans Passes.

Dump the Pump Day started in 2006 at a time when gas prices were around $3 per gallon. The APTA’s April Transit Savings Report states that people living in a two-person household can save an average of more than $9,000 annually by downsizing to one car. Additionally, APTA noted that since 1995, the number of public transportation riders has increased by 39 percent which is even higher than the 21 percent increase in population during that time. Additional benefits cited by APTA included fuel efficiency, creation of jobs, community growth and the yielding of $4 in economic returns for every $1 invested in public transportation.

For more information, visit soltransride.com/2016/06/dumpthepump2016. For information on which routes qualify as local routes, visit soltransride.com/routes.

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