As planets go, ours is a beaut. In celebration of Earth Day on Monday, April 22, Metro is offering free rides on our buses, trains, and bike share bikes. The free rides begin at 4 a.m. on April 22 and continue until 3 a.m. on Tuesday, April 23.

The idea behind the freebie rides is to encourage people to take transit and help reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions in L.A. County.

Free rides is a practice rare at large agencies, which is too bad. To repeat what I’ve written many times, taking a bus or train instead of driving alone is a good way to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions your activities produce. It’s also a high-impact way to reduce your household’s greenhouse gases.

I will not bore you with statistics and scientific mumbo jumbo. Instead I’m going to post a chart that I’ve posted many times previous. It’s not the most lovely chart but it does the job:

A very long story short: a number of nations, communities, ecosystems and species are at risk because of climate change. Impacts include rising sea levels that could inundate communities, more severe and/or changing weather patterns that could inflict more damage and change agricultural practices and shrinking wildlife habitats. To name a few.

Need something to listen to whilst transiting? Try this New Yorker podcast on wildlife extinctions and climate change.

As part of this year’s free rides, Metro will also be handing out stickers reminding riders of their good deed and putting posters up across the system.

If you’re new to the Metro system, planning a transit ride can be done on the trip planner at metro.net or on Google Maps. Below are maps of our entire system along with a map of our rail and bus rapid transit lines. Individual maps and timetables for all bus and rail lines can be found here.

Besides Metro, here are some other transit agencies also offering free rides on Earth Day:

Metrolink: offering commuter rail service across Southern California.

Metro Bike Share: unlock free 30-minute bike rides with the promo code 4222019. Usage fees of $1.75 per each 30 minutes thereafter apply. The code can be used multiple times throughout the day. Valid at any Smart or Classic Metro Bike Share station. Not valid online.

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