DENVER — All Regional Transportation District services will be fare-free during the month of August. They're calling the program "Zero Fare for Better Air."
The goal is to reduce ground-level ozone by increasing the use of public transit.
The effort is made possible by Colorado Senate Bill 22-180, the ozone season transit grant program, in partnership with the Colorado Energy Office.
RTD said Aug. 1 to Aug. 31 is Colorado’s high ozone season.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed the bill earlier this month to funnel money toward the state’s transit agencies, allowing them to offer fare-free days during the summer. But many experts in public transit said offering free fares has little impact on the environment, as data is mixed on whether the free fares encourage people who would have driven to give up their car trip.
State Sen. Faith Winter (D-Westminster), who sponsored the bill, said the goal of offering free fares is to allow people who wouldn’t otherwise take transit to sample the service.
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