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Annual Campaign Promotes Ride Sharing in L.A.

Lior Haykeen |
October 8, 2014 | 2:09 a.m. PDT

Staff Reporter

La Cienega station. (Wikipedia Commons)
La Cienega station. (Wikipedia Commons)
“People in L.A. are tired of sitting in traffic,” said Paula Carvajal. “They want options.”

Carvajal, a transportation planner at the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro), is a part of Rideshare Week, an annual campaign in which Metro and the Los Angeles County encourage residents to explore different options to get around the city.

“If people rideshare even one day a week, it could have significant impact on our air here,” said Eddie Washington, an L.A. County transportation program manager.

Washington himself rideshares every morning. He drives to a metro train station and takes a train to Union Station, where he gets on the Red Line subway, which takes him across the street from his workplace.

The entire trip takes him 45 minutes, he said. If he drove his own car, it would take him an hour and a half.

In the last year, metro ridership decreased by about 6 percent, according to Metro’s ridership statistics.

“Ridership has gone down because the public is not receiving enough consistent messages from government organizations about ridesharing options,” Washington said. “That is why we’re stepping up and holding such a week.”

So since last Monday, Metro representatives have been reaching out to employers and L.A.-based organizations to support Rideshare week by spreading the word to their employees.

The same representatives are also visiting local colleges and setting up promotional booths in different areas of the county. 

They have been setting up booths in which residents can take photos, and receive free promotional giveaways.

This Thursday, Metro and L.A. County will be holding one of the larger events of Rideshare Week, the Rideshare Fair at Los Angeles Grand Park. At the fair, Metro will host about 20 vendors that will promote clean air and ridesharing through games and prizes.

“We understand that people in California are tied to their cars more than they are in most cities in the world,” Washington said. “But we all play a role here, and we all have to contribute to the solution.”

Reach Staff Reporter Lior Haykeen here

 



 

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