Olympia proclaims June 2022 Ride Transit Month

The Olympia City Council approved a proclamation designating June 2022 as Ride Transit Month.

The proclamation, signed by city council members yesterday, endorses the Transportation Choices Coalition's (TCC) efforts to increase transit service, reduce carbon emissions and foster healthy and thriving communities.

The TCC is a nonprofit organization based in Seattle that advocates for and drafts policies that "make transportation accessible to all" in the state.

Raven Cruz, Transportation Choices Coalition operations manager, said, "investing in transit is critical to help meet the nation's goals around the environment, congestion management, and job opportunities."

The proclamation encourages all residents to pledge to ride transit at least five times this month.

"If people driving alone were to shift to transit, the state could save 130,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions per year – about equal to 28,272 passenger vehicles driven for one year," stated the proclamation.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Washington transit agencies provided more than 100 million passenger trips, including deliveries of groceries and prescriptions to people with disabilities and seniors, added the proclamation.

The proclamation further stated that every $1 million invested in Washington State Transit equates to 102,000 metric tons of CO2 reduction, equal to the carbon sequestered by 125 thousand acres of U.S. forests in one year.

The Washington State Legislature recently approved Move Ahead Washington, an almost-$17 billion transportation package, in which it allotted a $3 billion investment for public transportation programs and projects.