One million actions pledged across California to clear the air

The Gold Coast Transit District (GCTD) is one of many that pledged to participate in the California statewide 2019 Clean Air Day; pledgees can choose to plant something, reduce vehicle emissions, or switch it out with over 94 percent choosing to reduce vehicle emissions.

To fulfill its pledge, the GCTD Board will adopt a resolution committing to educating its nearly 200 employees and the communities it serves that everyone has a role in clearing the air and increasing the health of the community. The district will also be making 100, two-ride bus passes available free at the Oxnard Transportation Center on CA Clean Air Day on Oct. 2.

“Really, every day is clean air day for us,” said Steven Brown, GCTD general manager. “We provide environmentally-friendly public transit across five jurisdictions and carry over 3.6 million passengers annually on a fleet of buses fueled by compressed natural gas. And most recently, we completed our new and sustainable operations and maintenance facility which was built to meet all California Green Building standards. This statewide effort is another great opportunity for us to partner with agencies near and far to support this important clean air initiative.”

California Clean Air Day is a non-profit, statewide program built on the idea that shared experiences unite people to action to improve our community health. On October 2, 2019, Californians across the state will take actions to clear the air and improve their community’s health.

This year, the pledge has reached a milestone of one million actions pledged. Individuals are invited to take the pledge at CleanAirDay.org and choose from 3 categories: Plant Something, Reduce Vehicle Emissions, or Switch It Out. They can select to take just one action total or multiple actions. Businesses and organizations (including cities, hospitals, school districts and community organizations) can pledge as an entity on behalf of their employees/members, and then they are given a code to track their stakeholders individual registrations, as well.

In addition to individual and organizational pledges, large scale events are being planned across the state for those looking to join others on Clean Air Day, including electric vehicle “ride and drive” events, bike rides, transit parties, tree plantings, local clean-ups, clean air festivals and more.

Local government has taken a lead in clearing the air for the 2019 Clean Air Day. From Chula Vista to Sebastopol and dozens of cities in between, mayors across the state have pledged to lead on this important issue as part of the Clean Air Day Mayors Council. Additionally, Clean Air Day has been officially declared in cities and counties across the state including city of San Diego, city and county of Los Angeles, county of Ventura, Oakland, Sacramento and dozens of other cities, counties, school districts and other government entities.

Transit agencies across the state are helping Californians pledge to ditch their car on Clean Air Day through advertising, hosting transit parties, showcasing zero emission buses and offering free rides in select locations.

“[L.A.] Metro is one of many agencies in southern California that is dedicated to reducing tailpipe emissions and air pollution by providing more sustainable ways to get around while identifying greener ways to move freight,” said Metro Board Chair and Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts, Jr. “Sustainability is at the core of Metro’s mission and you can see that in our pursuit of a zero emission bus fleet, expanded rail program and better roadways that more efficiently move car and truck traffic.”