OCTA to offer free bus passes

Trying to do its part to soften the blow from ever-rising gas prices, the Orange County Transportation Authority announced Thursday it’s offering commuters free one-day bus passes from Monday to June 20.

The agency wants people to join a growing trend of commuters using public transportation, officials said.

Nationally, the public took 2.6 billion trips on public transportation during the first three months of 2008, more than a 3% increase from last year.

Light rail ridership increased more than 10%, officials said.

U.S. public transportation saves 1.4 billion gallons of gas a year — that’s about 4 million gallons of gas per day, officials said.

The bus passes are part of what transportation authority officials are dubbing “Dump the Pump” week. Officials encourage the public to jump on the bus, ride a bike or carpool to work next week. The passes are available online at the Orange County Transportation Authority website.

Orange County riders took Metrolink 5% more than last year, and Express Bus ridership jumped nearly 20%, between January and April, according to the agency’s numbers.

The American Public Transportation Assn. is sponsoring a national Dump the Pump day Thursday.