National Dump the Pump Day
Join the movement to decrease global gas usage by leaving your car at home and giving public transport, cycling, or even walking a try instead.
Position public transit, cycling, and alternative mobility as cost-saving and community-benefiting solutions to drive ridership and brand loyalty during peak commute season.
- Calculate your annual gas savings: switch to public transit for one week and see the ROI
- The $4 community return myth: how one transit ride generates economic multiplier effects
- Commute challenge: swap your car for the bus/bike and track your carbon footprint reduction
- Partner spotlight: local transit agencies and bike-share programs celebrating Dump the Pump Day
As petroleum fuels start to deplete the price of gas inevitably goes up with it, it’s a simple case of supply and demand.
Dump The Pump Day was aimed at encouraging people to start reducing the amount of gas they spend by finding alternate ways to handle gas consumption.
Dump the Pump Day first started in June of 2006 when it was founded by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA).
The purpose of the day was to present public transport as a convenient travel option that helps people to save money. Since then, public transport companies and individuals around the world have been promoting this day.
It all starts with just simply not using their car for a day, but it can expand even further beyond that. There are other options showing up on the horizon, with hybrid cars taking some of the gas cost out of driving, and electric cars eliminating it completely.
Even if you can’t avoid using gas today, if your family uses two vehicles you can cut down to using just one car. It’s been shown that families who downsize to using just one car can save themselves up to $10k in gasoline every year, just on daily driving.
When it comes down to brass tacks, it’s all about finding ways to avoid using the pump on Dump The Pump Day and finding ways to help save the world and the future.
Use Alternative Transportation
Celebrating Dump The Pump Day begins by choosing a method of transportation that doesn’t require you to stop at the pump. Look into public transportation routes, using them not only helps you save money but also aids your community to an unexpected degree. Spend $1 on public transportation, and the community sees a return of $4 in economic benefit, that’s a 400% boost, all by choosing not to use gas. Whatever you do, help break yourself off the pump and find a new way to make the world a little more oil-free!
Rethink Daily Travel
You can also use this day as the perfect opportunity to re-think the way that you travel on a daily basis. Sit down and make a list of all of the journeys that you are likely to take within your usual week. This could include going to and from work, visiting friends and family, and doing your weekly shopping. Now, see whether it would be feasible for you to switch any of these visits from being car journeys to journeys whereby you use public transport. For example, could you take the bus to work instead of driving? Could you hop onto the train to see your friends and family members? You can do the calculators to see how much money you would save as well.
Consider the Finances
How much does it cost you to fill up your tank with gas for the week? How much would it cost you to get the bus instead? You will probably find that public transport is considerably cheaper. By making a list and comparing all of the options out there, you will be able to make your travel as economical as possible, and that’s what Dump The Pump Day is all about.
Encourage Community Engagement
There are a number of other ways that Dump The Pump Day can be promoted and celebrated. For example, if you run a business, you may encourage all of your employees to take the bus to work on that day. Another option is to add a fuel savings calculator on your website so people can discover how much they would be able to save if they did decide to use public transport. Raising awareness is another part of Dump The Pump Day. There are a lot of factsheets and infographics that are floating around regarding public transport, and you will find that more are created in the build-up to Dump The Pump Day every year. Share this content with your friends, family members, and followers as a great way of building awareness and getting more and more people involved!