Rides on bus free today in LR area

Offer kicks off Ozone Action Days campaign to battle smog

Rock Region Metro, the transit agency for Pulaski County, will offer free rides on regular and express bus routes today to mark National Get on Board Day.

The initiative will help kick off Ozone Action Days, a public awareness campaign to educate people in central Arkansas about the harmful effects of ground-level ozone and encourage people to use alternative modes of transportation to reduce ozone during the hot summer months.

National Get on Board Day was developed by the American Public Transportation Association to create awareness of and support for public transportation.

Residents wanting to use Rock Region buses can find real-time arrival information to plan their trips at rrmetro. org, through the bus stop sign texting system or by downloading the free METROtrack mobile app in the App store or Google Play.

Ozone Action Days is designed to encourage people to take their own steps to reduce vehicle emissions that contribute to ground-level ozone.

Such ozone is created when pollutants mix with sunlight. Breathing this type of ozone can cause chest pain, coughing, throat irritation, and congestion, according to Metroplan, the long-range transportation planning agency for central Arkansas,.

The campaign can keep the region in compliance with federal air-quality standards, Metroplan officials said.

Metroplan sponsors Ozone Action Days in partnership with the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, the Health Department and the state Department of Transportation.

The campaign runs from May through September and focuses on four counties: Faulkner, Lonoke, Pulaski and Saline. More information is available at ozoneactiondays. org.