Did you drive when you could have walked or taken public transportation to work or to run your errands today? Sponsored by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), the 2009 National Dump the Pump Day is a day that encourages people to ride public transportation to save money, protect the environment, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and improve our quality of life.

Did you know that for every $1 invested in public transportation infrastructure, $6 is generated in economic returns to communities? On a more personal note, reducing your driving or cutting down to one car per family can save you as much as $8000 a year! Now that’s a serious stimulus plan.

Public transportation saves 900,000 automobile fill-ups each day – 4.2 billion gallons of gasoline per year. And switching to public transportation can reduce individual carbon emissions by 20 pounds per day or 4,800 pounds per year. Americans living in areas servedby public transportation save 541 million hours in travel time and 340 million gallons of fuel annually, according to the most recent Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) report on congestion.

If that wasn’t enough reason to dump the pump, today regional transportation officials in the Maryland, Virginia, and DC are announced a new pilot program where residents will be offered money as an incentive to carpool. The three month program will begin this fall and focus on specific areas of the highways which are most congested. Similar programs already exist in Atlanta and Los Angeles. It’s a pretty great way to earn an extra $2 a day – don’t you think?

National Dump the Pump day is also a great opportunity for you to take action and reach out to your government officials. Send a note to them encouraging them to increase your public transportation options. Already have some good options like a local bus route? Ask your government official to make your bus better by investing in hybrid or natural gas buses. Check out the Dump the Pump Toolkit for more ideas.

Write in and let us know how you are celebrating Dump the Pump Day today!