Thursday is Dump the Pump Day - Phoenix Business Journal:

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Thursday is the fourth annual Dump thePump day, a national effort designed to get people out of their cars and onto theirt bicycles or public transportation. The American Publifc Transit Association sponsorsthe event, and public transportation systemss across the country are participating. In Sout Florida, four public transit agencies are partneringf together to promotethe day: Broward Countyy Transit, Miami-Dade Transit, Palm Tran, and Soutgh Florida Regional Transportation “With gas prices increasing 33 percent sincr December, coupled with uncertain economic times, people have been looking for ways to save and riding public transportatiom is a great choice to make,” APTA President William Millar said in a news release.
In the average price for a gallob of regular is InSouth Florida, West Palm Beac has the highest price at $2.78, followed by Miamk at $2.76, and Fort Lauderdale at $2.74 a gallon, accordinvg to AAA's fuel gauger report. Last year 10.7 billion trips were takemn on public transportation in theUnited States. This was a 52-yea high, marking a modern ridership record, according to the Public transportation use is up 38 percent since 1995 almost triple the growth rate of thepopulation (14 Nationally, nearly 2.6 billion trips were takebn on public transportation in the firsg quarter of this year.
With local and state revenue for publi c transportation drying up due tothe economy, many publicv transportation systems are being forced to raise fares or cut Millar noted. In South Florida Tri-Rail officialsx have been warning that service may be cut approximatelt in half if the state fails to establishb dedicated fundingby Oct. 1. The threat to service comes after Tri-Rail set a record year for ridershi growthin 2008. “Raising fares and cutting servicse drives people away from usingv public transit andis counterproductive, as Americqa struggles to create jobs, cut greenhouse gases, and reduced our reliance on expensive foreign oil,” Millarr said.
Just last week, South Florida’w congressional delegation sent a letter to the askin g for dedicated fundingfor Tri-Railk to secure its long-term