Sta Offers Free Rides When Air’s At Its Worst Federal Funds Help Launch Airwatch Pilot Program
When Spokane’s air quality is at its hacking worst, riding the bus will be free.
On Monday, a group of city, county and state agencies kicked off the AirWatch program aimed at telling residents when carbon monoxide levels are higher than federal safety standards allow. People will be encouraged to hike, bike, car-pool or ride for free on Spokane Transit Authority buses.
The pilot program will be in effect through February. If successful, it will return every November.
Fortunately for Spokane lungs, those air-scare days occur only about three times a year.
It wasn’t always so. “Right around 1974, ‘75 and ‘76, we were second only to L.A.” when it came to carbon monoxide count, said Ron Edgar of the Spokane County Air Pollution Control Authority.
Each year then, Lilac City air would exceed federal standards about 400 times - meaning up to three times in one day. Now, that number has dropped to about three times a year. More efficient cars are part of the reason.
The new program is aimed at shaving off those last few trouble days.
When carbon monoxide levels approach the federal threshold, newspapers and broadcasters will be told that the next day will be a “CO Alert” day.
Those days usually happen in November through February. Cars work harder in cold weather, and conditions are perfect for trapping pollutants.
The federal government coughed up $233,000 to pay for the pilot program. That’s enough for about three years, said Terry Zeimantz of the Spokane Regional Transportation Council.
Portland and Seattle also encourage residents not to drive during bad air days, Edgar said. But Spokane’s free bus rides apparently are a Northwest first, he said.
Whether buses can handle the free-day loads remains to be seen.
“If these are wildly successful and it depletes the funds, then we do” lose money, said STA spokeswoman Christine Fueston. And she doesn’t know if some bus routes will become too busy.
Federal air-quality guidelines are based on the amount of carbon monoxide threatening “sensitive individuals” after eight hours of breathing. That means young children, senior citizens and people with asthma or other breathing problems.
Other bad-air fixes also are in the works, most aimed at reducing traffic. Cameras will be installed along Interstate 90 next year, letting officials know sooner when there’s been an accident so they can move cars or redirect traffic. And digital reader boards that now warn of road conditions also will tell drivers where to tune their radios for more details.
, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: Federal standards Federal air-quality guidelines are based on the amount of carbon monoxide threatening “sensitive individuals” after eight hours of breathing. That means young children, senior citizens and people with asthma or other breathing problems.