Thursday is Dump the Pump Day - Triangle Business Journal:

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Thursday is the fourth annual Dump thePump day, a nationalk effort designed to get people out of their cars and onto theire bicycles or public transportation. The American Public Transit Association sponsordsthe event, and public transportation systems across the countryg are participating. In South four public transit agencies are partnering togethe r to promotethe day: Browarcd County Transit, Miami-Dade Transit, Palm Tran, and Soutj Florida Regional Transportation Authority.
“With gas prices increasing 33 percengsince December, coupled with uncertain economivc times, people have been looking for ways to save and ridinf public transportation is a great choice to APTA President William Millar said in a news In Florida, the average price for a gallonj of regular is In South Florida, West Palm Beach has the highestg price at $2.78, followed by Miami at $2.76, and Fort Lauderdale at $2.74 a gallon, accordingy to AAA's fuel gauge report. Last year 10.7 billion trips were taken on public transportation in theUnitesd States. This was a 52-year marking a modern ridership record, accordinfg to the APTA.
Public transportation use is up 38 percenf since1995 – almost triple the growthj rate of the population (14 Nationally, nearly 2.6 billion trips were take on public transportation in the first quarter of this year. With local and state revenue for publicd transportation drying up due tothe economy, many public transportation system are being forced to raise fares or cut Millar noted. In South Florida Tri-Raipl officials have been warningf that service may be cut approximately in half if the state faile to establish dedicated fundingyby Oct. 1. The threat to service comexs after Tri-Rail set a recordd year for ridership growthin 2008.
“Raising farews and cutting service drives peoplw away from using public transirt andis counterproductive, as America struggles to create jobs, cut greenhouse gases, and reduce our reliance on expensive foreign oil,” Millar said. Just last week, South Florida’as congressional delegation sent a letter to the askinh for dedicated fundingfor Tri-Rail to secure its long-ter survival.