Free Ride Today on Va. Buses
Get to know a Northern Virginia bus today. It's free.
This one-day free ride on any route in Northern Virginia was scheduled by the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission to remind commuters that the free bus option will be there again this summer, whenever a bad air day is forecast.
These Code Red air quality alerts don't come very often anymore, and an alert doesn't mean that we've actually violated our air quality standards. In fact, we've done a good job avoiding that in recent summers. Still, the regional Council of Governments predicts we could have one to five alerts this summer.
One way to reduce ozone pollution is to get people out of their cars and on transit. Virginia jurisdictions subsidize the free bus rides, using funds from the federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality program.
Of course, the sponsors hope that you'll be enticed by the free ride and then discover that the bus is a convenient way to travel, even when you have to pay.
Today's event means free rides on Metrobus routes in Northern Virginia, and also on the local bus services:
-- Alexandria's DASH, 703-370-3274
-- Arlington Transit (ART), 703-228-7433
-- City of Fairfax's CUE, 703-385-7859
-- City of Falls Church's GEORGE, 202-637-7000
-- Fairfax Connector, 703-339-7200
-- Loudoun County Transit, 703-771-5665
-- OmniRide/OmniLink, 703-730-6664
-- Virginia Regional Transit, 540-338-1610
By |
April 30, 2008; 5:37 AM ET
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Posted by: Rich | April 30, 2008 8:46 AM
I'd love to take a bus from Alexandria to SE, but there is no service over the Wilson Bridge. Currently my only mass transit option involves going all the way to L'Enfant, and then transfer and come all the way back out. Stupid!
Posted by: CB | April 30, 2008 9:35 AM
Swim
Posted by: DC Metro | April 30, 2008 12:52 PM
This was a nice surprise this morning. I honestly do believe that public transit is the way to go and the Metrobus service is great (so is Alexandria DASH). I wish I only had to take a bus to get to work instead of dealing with metro rail (that's where it all goes downhill).
Posted by: LV | April 30, 2008 1:30 PM
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I've always wondered one thing about the "Code Red" days. They say to avoid ALL outdoor activities, but also to avoid driving. The nearest bus stop to my house is a half-mile walk. Does "Code Red" mean that the half-mile walk (or full mile roundtrip, I guess) is to be considered unsafe, or do the benefits of not driving outweigh that?