Free Transit Passes Offered on Clean Air Day

Clean Air Express Makes Trying Alternative Transportation Easy in Recognition of California Clean Air Day 2019

Source: SBCAG

Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG) joins Santa Barbara Air Pollution Control District and other local partners to encourage Santa Barbara County residents to try alternative transportation in honor of the second annual California Clean Air Day taking place on October 2, 2019. The Clean Air Express, administered and operated by SBCAG, is offering free round-trip passes to new commuters throughout the month of October. 

Traffic Solutions, a division of SBCAG, launched a Clean Air Day webpage, www.trafficsolutions.org/cleanairday, with key information on how Santa Barbara county residents can try alternative transportation to make a difference toward cleaner air today and for generations to come. The website features a link to the California Clean Air Pledge and information on how commuters living in Lompoc, Santa Maria, or the Santa Ynez Valley, who want to experience first-hand the benefits of commuting on the Clean Air Express, can sign up for a free round-trip ticket.

“Usually all it takes is one trip on the Clean Air Express for a new customer to become a regular customer,” said Scott Spaulding, Director of Rail and Transit Programs. “Once someone is onboard the Clean Air Express reclining in the comfortable seats, surfing the web and not gripping the wheel and staring at the road for an hour, they wonder why they’ve been spending all that money driving alone to work.”

The Clean Air Express serves northern Santa Barbara County with thirteen round trips each weekday, including five serving Santa Maria, seven serving Lompoc, and one serving the Santa Ynez Valley. Clean Air Express trips eliminate 350 cars and ten million vehicle miles traveled from the county’s roads every year.

Traffic Solutions will also be at the Marian Medical Center Clean Air Day Fair open to employees, volunteers, and hospital visitors. Traffic Solutions will distribute free Santa Maria Area Transit (SMAT) bus tokens to anyone who takes the Clean Air Pledge and will be available to share commuter resources and information.

California Clean Air Day is a statewide program built on the idea that shared experiences unite people to action to improve local air quality and community health. On October 2, 2019, Californians across the state will take actions to clear the air and improve their and their community’s health. More than 100,000 people participated in 2018, and it is anticipated that 10 times as many people will participate in 2019.

For more details about how to support California Clean Air Day by trying alternative transportation please visit, www.trafficsolutions.org/cleanairday, and for more information about the Clean Air Express, visit www.CleanAirExpress.com.

MTD CELEBRATES CA CLEAN AIR DAY BY OFFERING FREE PASSES FOR LOCALS TO TRY TRANSIT

Source: MTD Santa Barbara

In partnership with the Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District (APCD) and other local partners, Santa Barbara MTD is offering the first 500 individuals to pledge to try an MTD bus in the month of October a free 10-ride bus pass. The pledge and sign up is located at this link: www.surveymonkey.com/r/freepasscleanerair

The free MTD passes are funded through a Low-Carbon Transit Operations Program grant from Caltrans.

California Clean Air Day is a statewide program built on the idea that shared experiences unite people to action to improve local air quality and community health. On October 2, 2019, Californians across the state will take actions to clear the air and improve their and their community’s health. More than 100,000 people participated in 2018, and it is anticipated that 10 times as many people will participate in 2019.

MTD and APCD – together with Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG) / Traffic Solutions, Santa Barbara County Public Health Department, and Sansum Clinic – encourages Santa Barbara County residents to take three steps to participate in Clean Air Day this year:

1)BE AWARE OF YOUR AIR: Sign up to receive air quality alerts issued by APCD and Santa Barbara County Public Health: www.ourair.org/subscribe.

• APCD provides hourly air quality conditions and daily forecasts on its website: www.ourair.org/todays-air-quality/. For the most part, Santa Barbara County enjoys good-to-moderate air quality conditions. Sign up to receive alerts when air quality conditions turn unhealthy, such as during wildfires.
• Being up-to-date on hourly air quality conditions will help you and your loved ones protect your health and plan activities accordingly. This is especially important for individuals with heart and lung conditions, seniors, and children.

2)PROTECT YOUR HEALTH: Learn more about air pollution and health: www.ourair.org/apcd/air-pollutants-and-health.

• Read about how ground-level ozone and particulate matter can affect your health.
• Knowledge is power, and the more you understand about the harmful effects of air pollution, the more you can do to protect your health.

3)PLEDGE TO TRY ALTERNATIVE TRANSPORTATION THIS OCTOBER: Try alternative transportation for free this month.

• Sign up to receive a free 10-ride pass to ride the Santa Barbara MTD: www.surveymonkey.com/r/freepasscleanerair
• Sign up to receive a free one-time, round-trip pass to ride any of the routes of the Clean Air Express, run by SBCAG:  www.trafficsolutions.org/cleanairday
• Walk or bike to work or school, as several Santa Barbara County schools are doing today.

“Every day we make personal choices that contribute positively or negatively to our air quality and our climate,” said Hillary Blackerby, MTD’s Planning and Marketing Manager. “If we each replaced one trip a week with a bus trip, it would reduce our collective carbon emissions and pollution significantly.”

Find more ideas to help improve air quality on the California Clean Air Day website, and take the pledge:www.CleanAirDay.org.