Launched in June, the annual Dump the Pump campaign is a national effort led by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) that encourages people to ride public transportation to take them where they need to go, instead of driving a car. Although typically held on one day in June (June 15th), GCTD encouraged the community to “Dump the Pump” all summer long and hosted the contest to incentivize passengers. The rules were:
The contest closed on September 5th and Ms. Kajumba’s photo was selected. Today, on World Car Free Day, GCTD General Manager presented her with the winning prize at the Ventura Transit Center.
"This is so exciting! I am getting on the Route 11 now with my new bike", said Ms. Kajumba.
Since installing three-position bike racks on every bus in 2013, bicycle boardings have increased 54 percent and now average about 100,000 bike boardings per year.
"We are proud to support our community and passengers like Ms. Kajumba with multi-modal travel options to help them get around town safely and efficiently without a car", said GCTD General Manager Steven Brown.
A recent study released by APTA, Millennials and Mobility, shows that while car-sharing, bike-sharing, walking and car ownership will all play a role in the multi-modal network, public transportation ranked highest as the best mode to connect to all other modes, according to 54 percent of millennials polled.