Tomorrow, drivers across the nation are encouraged to "dump the pump."
It a day to encourage using public transit but what if you've never ridden the bus before? Mark Sheppard, HART travel trainer, said it’s not that hard.
"(Those) who are unfamiliar with getting out in public or it's been many, many years, so we'll take them on an adventure. It's not so much travel training as it is a transit experience,” he said.
HART'S travel training service is free of charge. Sheppard sees a variety of people in his mobile classroom. He sees a lot of seniors, people who are new to the area and unfamiliar with our system and those with special needs.
Joshua Tucker, 17, took Sheppard’s class so he could go to school by himself.
Sheppard said he's been doing this for 11 years. And in those 11 years he's trained 1,100 to ride public transit. He said not one person has ever gotten on the wrong bus.
For those of us who feel we can't live without our cars, Sheppard said incorporating transit can be done in baby steps, having transit as a plan b for your commute and practicing that plan.
Dumping the pump for transit one, two or more days a month helps the environment and keeps your bus-riding skills up to date.