Spare the Air Days declared; transit use encouraged (though no longer free)

Wednesday, September 1, and Thursday, September 2, are "Spare the Air" days in the San Francisco Bay Area. Spare the Air days are designated by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District when concentrations of ground-level ozone pollution are forecast to be unhealthy. Hot temperatures and light winds are combining to produce poor air quality.

In several past years, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission received federal funds to sponsor free or discounted rides on area public transit systems on Spare the Air days.  But that funding has run out, which is why normal fares are now in place for most transit agencies, including BART, on Spare the Air days.

The Bay Area has been experiencing an unusually cool summer this year, going most of the summer with no Spare the Air days declared. But Thursday's will be the third in the past two weeks. To monitor current air quality conditions, visit http://www.sparetheair.org

To help prevent smog, the public is urged to:

• Carpool or vanpool with friends or co-workers
•  Take public transportation
•  Telecommute -- work from home instead of driving to work
•  Link necessary trips and postpone errands if possible