This story is archived. Visit bart.gov/news for the latest BART news.

Spare the Air, get a free BART ride

On the first five non-holiday weekdays declared a "Spare the Air" day by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, anyone entering a BART station between 4 a.m. and 9 a.m. can ride BART for FREE! Now through October 14.

Cars are the Bay Area's number one source of air pollution. Take BART on Spare the Air days and do your part to reduce smog when air quality is expected to be unhealthy. It's also a great chance to try a bus to BART connection for free!

We've already had one Spare the Air day this year, so don't miss your next chance to ride for free. Receive advance notification of Spare the Air days by registering for "Air Alerts" at http://airalert.sparetheair.org/. For more information, visit www.sparetheair.org.

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District (Air District) declares a Spare the Air day when it expects air pollution to reach unhealthy concentrations, which typically occur on hot, windless days. Spare the Air advisories are issued the afternoon before a Spare the Air day.

This year's Spare the Air promotion expands last year's highly successful program that also offered free morning commutes on BART. This year, however, the Air District and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) expanded the partnership to include 21 other Bay Area transit agencies. The estimated $3.9 million cost of the free ride program will be paid by the Air District and MTC using federal transportation dollars allocated to the Bay Area.

The following transit agencies are also participating in the program:

  • ACE
  • AC Transit
  • Alameda Harbor Bay Ferry
  • Benecia Transit
  • Caltrain
  • County Connection
  • Emery Go Round
  • Golden Gate Transit
  • LAVTA/Wheels
  • MUNI
  • Napa County Vine
  • Petaluma Transit
  • SamTrans
  • Santa Rosa CityBus
  • Sonoma County Transit
  • Tri Delta Transit
  • Union City Transit
  • WestCAT
  • VTA