"Spare the Air" Days Mean Free Transit -- Except RT
KXJZ file photo/Ben Adler
Thursday and Friday are Spare the Air days in the Sacramento area. That means free fares for many local public transit agencies – but not RT.
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(Sacramento, CA)
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Here is the list of Sacramento-area agencies that offer free transit on Spare the Air days: Yolobus and UNITRANS in Yolo County; Auburn, Lincoln, Roseville and Placer County Transits in Placer County; El Dorado Transit and the North Natomas TMA Shuttle.
And here is the list of agencies that don’t offer free fares: the Sacramento Regional Transit District.
An RT spokeswoman says that’s because the district’s fare revenues are so much higher than other agencies – and it doesn’t have a funding source to cover the loss of revenues.
Some of the other agencies do get reimbursed. At least one, UNITRANS, will just absorb the revenue loss.
But RT says it simply can’t afford such a big loss in fare revenues. It expects the state to slash RT’s funding as lawmakers try to balance the budget.