Air quality campaign launched this summer to combat ozone pollution
Employers Must Register
To Qualify For $2 Round-Trip Tickets
NEWARK, NJ, April 21, 2004 – In celebration of Earth Week,
NJ TRANSIT will offer many New Jersey employees a discounted commute
on days when high levels of ozone pollution are predicted this
year.
The Corporation’s OzonePass gives New Jersey-based employers
the opportunity to offer their employees a $2 round-trip ticket
for use on any bus, train or light rail line on high ozone days.
The ozone season runs from May 17 through September 10, 2004.
“Just last week, Gov. McGreevey called on the President
to stop polluters from damaging New Jersey’s air quality
by establishing uniform clean-air regulations,” said NJ
Transportation Commissioner and NJ TRANSIT Board Chairman Jack
Lettiere. “It’s programs like OzonePass and high-ozone
alert days when the NJDOT curbs jobs that exacerbate the ozone
like cutting grass along highways and painting bridges, that show
the Bush Administration that we mean business.”
“Offering discounted tickets to use during high-ozone days,
coupled with our plan to reduce particulate emissions on our buses,
are key to our goal of meeting Gov. McGreevey’s new clean
air initiative,” said NJ TRANSIT Executive Director George
D. Warrington. “In fact, with our new bus purchases and
modifications to the existing fleet, we’ve already reduced
particulate emissions by 77 percent over the last 10 years,”
he said.
“The McGreevey Administration has taken major steps forward
to reduce health threatening air pollution in our state by adopting
new policies to clean up power plants and automobiles, two of
the state’s largest source of air pollution,” said
Dena Mottola, executive director of NJPIRG Citizen Lobby. “Of
course with our air as polluted as it is in New Jersey, we must
take advantage of all the opportunities we can find to reduce
air pollution. Air pollution is the third highest risk factor
for premature death in our state and a major contributor to our
state’s asthma epidemic.”
NJ TRANSIT was the first commuter system to introduce the OzonePass
concept in 1999. Last year, 21 organizations bought 5,960 OzonePass
tickets.
OzonePass is sold in bulk quantities to New Jersey employers who
will either sell or give the passes to their employees. The day
before unhealthy ozone pollution levels are predicted, employers
will be alerted by fax or e-mail. The employers will then notify
their employees who can use the OzonePass to commute on NJ TRANSIT
instead of driving to work and contributing to the anticipated
unhealthy pollution levels.
OzonePass is available to members of the New Jersey Ozone Action
Partnership, an organization of more than 500 businesses and organizations.
As a partner, employers can purchase a limited number of passes
at the start of the ozone season. To register, employers should
call (973) 491-7600 or send an email to ozonepass@njtransit.com.
Ground-level ozone pollution forms when car exhaust, fuel vapors
and emissions from industrial sources are “baked”
by the sun on hot summer days. Though New Jersey’s air quality
has improved greatly over the last few years, ground-level ozone
pollution continues to be a problem.
Buses and trains keep tons of volatile organic compounds and nitrogen
oxides from New Jersey’s air. In fact, NJ TRANSIT’s
new bus acquisition and replacement program and the use of low-sulfur
diesel fuel has already contributed to a 77 percent reduction
in particulate emissions. Encouraging more commuters to try transit
instead of driving to work further reduces pollutants and improves
the state’s air quality.
For more information on the OzonePass and/or the NJ Ozone Action
Partnership, organizations can contact NJ TRANSIT at (973) 491-7600
or their local Transportation Management Association at (800)
245-7665.
NJ TRANSIT is the nation's largest statewide public transportation
system providing bus, rail and light rail services for 752,600
daily trips on 238 bus routes, two light rail lines and 11 commuter
rail lines. It is the third largest transit system in the country
with 162 rail stations, 29 light rail stations and more than 17,000
bus stops linking major points in New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia.
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