Beat the Back-Up Day a huge success

Months of planning by Bay Area Action, KRON-TV (Channel 4), and other local agencies resulted in a Beat the Back-Up Day (September 18th) that surpassed every expectation. Ridership was up on virtually every public transit system in the Bay Area. Furthermore, BART has announced that it will increase the number of trains due to the increased use in recent months.

In Palo Alto, an alternative transportation parade put efficient forms of transportation on display for the public and the media. Co-organized by BAA, the Palo Alto Medical Center, and the City of Palo Alto, it featured solar- and electric-powered vehicles, bicycles, horse-drawn carriages, people-drawn automobiles, rollerbladers, and unicycles. At the rally following the parade, Palo Alto Mayor Mike Cobb challenged other cities in the Golden Triangle (part of Santa Clara County) to raise the most alternative transportation pledge cards.

The Alternative Transportation Project at BAA is continuing its work to get commuters away from inefficient use of fossil fuels. See the BAA Projects column above.

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Published in Action, vol 1, no 3 · Nov–Dec 1990