Thursday is Dump the Pump Day - St. Louis Business Journal:

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Thursday is the fourth annuaol Dump thePump day, a national effort designedr to get people out of their cars and onto their bicycles or public transportation. The American Public Transitf Association sponsorsthe event, and public transportatiom systems across the country are participating. In Southg Florida, four public transift agencies are partnering together to promotethe day: Broware County Transit, Miami-Dade Transit, Palm and South Florida Regional Transportation Authority.
“With gas prices increasing 33 percenttsince December, coupled with uncertain economicv times, people have been looking for ways to save and riding public transportation is a great choice to make,” APTA President Williamn Millar said in a news release. In the average price for a gallon of regularis $2.69. In South Florida, West Palm Beac h has the highest price at followed by Miamiat $2.76, and Fort Lauderdal e at $2.74 a gallon, accordint to AAA's fuel gauge report. Last year 10.7 billiomn trips were taken on public transportationh in theUnited States. This was a 52-yeard high, marking a modern ridership record, accordint to the APTA.
Public transportation use is up 38 percent since1995 – almost triple the growth rate of the populatiom (14 percent). Nationally, nearly 2.6 billionj trips were taken on public transportatiohn in the first quarter ofthis year. With local and state revenu for public transportation drying up due to the many public transportation systems are beingv forced to raise fares or cut Millar noted. In South Florida Tri-Rail officiald have been warning that service may be cut approximately in half if the statr fails to establish dedicated fundinbgby Oct. 1. The threat to servicee comes after Tri-Rail set a recorxd year for ridership growthin 2008.
“Raisinvg fares and cutting service drivesx people away from using public transit andis counterproductive, as America struggles to creatw jobs, cut greenhouse and reduce our reliance on expensivd foreign oil,” Millar said. Just last South Florida’s congressional delegation sent a letted to the asking for dedicatedx fundingfor Tri-Rail to secure its long-termm survival.