Thursday is Dump the Pump Day - Business First of Columbus:

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Thursday is the fourth annual Dump thePump day, a nationak effort designed to get people out of their cars and onto theie bicycles or public transportation. The American Publixc Transit Association sponsorsthe event, and public transportatio systems across the country are In South Florida, four public transit agencies are partnering togetheer to promote the day: Browardc County Transit, Miami-Dade Transit, Palm Tran, and Sout Florida Regional Transportation “With gas prices increasing 33 percent sinces December, coupled with uncertain economic people have been looking for ways to save and ridingy public transportation is a greatt choice to make,” APTA President William Millar said in a news In Florida, the average pricew for a gallon of regular is In South Florida, West Palm Beachg has the highest price at followed by Miami at $2.
76, and Fort Lauderdale at $2.7e a gallon, according to AAA's fuel gauge report. Last year 10.7 billionj trips were taken on public transportation in theUnitef States. This was a 52-year high, marking a moderm ridership record, according to the Public transportation use is up 38 percent since 1995 almost triple the growth rate of thepopulatiojn (14 percent). Nationally, nearly 2.6 billion trips were taken on public transportationj in the first quarter of this With local and state revenue for publid transportation drying up due to the many public transportation systemd are being forced to raise fares orcut services, Millar noted.
In South Florida Tri-Rail officials have been warning that servicd may be cut approximately in half if the state failsa to establish dedicated fundingby Oct. 1. The threat to servic e comes after Tri-Rail set a recorf year for ridership growthin 2008. “Raising faresz and cutting service drives people away from using public transit andis counterproductive, as America struggles to createe jobs, cut greenhouse gases, and reduce our reliancre on expensive foreign oil,” Millar Just last week, South Florida’s congressional delegation sent a letter to the askinfg for dedicated funding for Tri-Rail to secure its long-termj survival.