World Car Free Day 2016
September 22, 2016
Today, Thursday, September 22, 2016, we celebrate Car Free Day. Car Free Day is a worldwide event that encourages greener means of travel. This includes walking, biking, carpooling, and of course, taking public transportation! The goal of this annual event is to reduce the number of cars on the street, resulting in less traffic congestion, less pollution, and less gasoline demand.
If you’re a SEPTA Rider, congratulations! You are already contributing to this goal. SEPTA is proud to provide transportation that helps take cars off the road. Here are some facts on how we make Philadelphia a more environmentally-friendly city:
-
One car on the Broad Street Line holds 65 people. That's 41 fewer [of those other] cars on the road.
-
One car on the Market-Frankford Line has seating for 49 people. That's 31 fewer [of those other] cars on the road.
-
One 60' Hybrid Articulated SEPTA Bus seats 59 passengers. Taking [on average] 37 cars off the road.
-
One 40' Hybrid SEPTA Bus seats 39 passengers. Taking [on average] 24 cars off the road.
-
One SEPTA Trolley car seats 51 passengers. Taking [on average] 32 cars off the road.
-
If all transit commuters to Center City drove instead of riding SEPTA, we would need 28 Comcast Centers worth of parking (923 acres).
Public transportation users take 30% more steps per day than people who rely on cars.
So, Philadelphians, join the 1,500 cities and 40 countries across the globe and ditch the car today. You will help to make Philadelphia a greener city. New to SEPTA? Plan your trip here.
Keeping with the car-less theme in Philadelphia, this Saturday is the city's inaugural Philly Free Streets. The event runs from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m and hopes to get residents to connect to Philadelphia’s beautiful parks and trails. A ten mile route through fifteen neighborhoods will be closed off to all traffic. Along the way, family-friendly fitness activities will be held such as yoga, dancing, scavenger hunts, and boot camp. Running, biking, skating – anything but driving – will also be encouraged during the five hour event. Of course, since driving and parking will be prohibited, there's no better way to get to the route than SEPTA!
