Give your car a break. On Thursday, June 20, public transit systems across the country will celebrate the 14th annual National Dump the Pump Day.
The event is sponsored by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). It’s a national public awareness day to get people to park their cars for the day and ride public transportation.
The event began in June 2006, and is celebrated by more than 155 public transit systems. Not only is public transit better for the environment, but when you ride it, you can also save money either by reducing your car expenses or with commuter benefits.
The APTA produces a Transit Savings Report to tally up the costs household can save by downsizing to one-car families and using public transit. The APTA estimates two-person home can save more than $10,000 annually.
The APTA says about 34 million people ride public transit each year and hopes more people will ride a train or a bus regularly after learning about their local transit system during the event.
Each transit system will celebrate in its own way, so check out your local one to see if it has any special events planned. For example, last year in Chicago riders received free coffee at some stops, and 10,000 people received a free t-shirt at the Chicago White Sox game on the same day.
Some transit systems even offered free rides.
How Commuter benefits Can Help
Did you know? Commuter benefits can help you save you up to 40 percent on commuting costs. Commuters save money in their paychecks tax-free, up to $265 a month. The money is used for public transit, rideshares (Lyft Shared, UperPool), or qualified parking.
If your employer is not offering it, have them check out our website our www.commuterbenefits.com. They can save on payroll taxes because commuter benefits save them about $41 per employee per month.
Fifty employees participating for the year means more than $24,000 in savings on payroll taxes, so it’s a good deal for everyone.
No matter what you do, remember on Thursday, June 20, to “Dump the Pump. Ride Transit.”
If you want to learn more about commuter benefits, download the 101 Guide below:
