I know that living in the Sacramento valley comes with a few environmental certainties. Tule fog in the winter and oppressive heat and air pollution in the summer. Sort of like death and taxes, if you live here, you have to be ready to deal with both.
The State of Californians Air Resources Board is charged with finding ways to reduce the air pollution in the golden state just as the population keeps expanding. Tough job.
To promote and protect public health, welfare and ecological resources through the effective and efficient reduction of air pollutants while recognizing and considering the effects on the economy of the state.More people, more cars, more growth in rural areas increasing commute times, how can you hope to reduce the air pollution? They must try or the state looses out on federal road funding if they fail to achieve their goals, like I said, tough job.
One of the ways they try to reduce the worst pollution days is through education. The 'Spare the Air' program is managed through the ARB's 35 management districts. We live the Yolo-Solano Air Quality Management District. On a real bad air quality day the YSAQMD works with the local public transit systems to provide free or reduced fares to get cars off the road. I have not read of any problems during these free ride days but I am sure the increased amount of riders is inconvenient for the regular riders. In a small mostly rural county the program seems to work, however in a high crime metropolitan area, not so much.
The highly touted 'Spare the Air' days spelled financial relief for thousands of Bay Area commuters and help for the environment -- but for BART, this summer's experiment with six days of free rides also brought so much grief that the system's police chief is calling for the program to be limited to just commuters in the future.
On one Spare the Air Day, said BART police Chief Gary Gee, "we had a train car taken over by 10 young males in white T-shirts and baggy pants, and they were holding the door open and acting like they were on the playground.
"In certain trains, people were pretty terrified by their rides," he said.
I am sure the regular passengers who ride BART will think twice on the next 'Spare the Air' -free ride day. They may drive their own cars just to avoid being terrorized by the gang bangers or sitting next to the passed out homeless guy who just relieved himself.
In theory it should work like a charm, bad air, free rides, less cars, better air. But like most government programs, they are thought up in a big room with coffee and danish by bureaucrats who live in the world of static analysis.
I would bet you lunch at the Burger Barn in Esparto that no one asked the question, do you think there will be a increase in crime if we let everyone ride free? I wonder if the crime will make some people stay off the trains?
Hmm.
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