First Ozone Alert: Saturday, July 25

Posted on: Jul 24, 2015

First Ozone Alert of 2015 Issued for Saturday, July 25

The Metro, IndeBus Offer 75¢ Bus Rides

(Kansas City, Mo. – July 24, 2015) Saturday, July 25, is an Ozone Alert! To promote healthy air quality, The Metro, The JO, Unified Government Transit and IndeBus cut the cost of riding the bus in half on an Ozone Alert.

Ditching the car for a bus on Ozone Alert days can help cut auto emissions, which are a major contributor to ground-level ozone. By riding the bus instead of driving, people can help reduce the amount of ozone in the air. Area transit providers offer 75¢ bus rides during all Ozone Alerts between June 1 and September 30.

Since automobiles produce more than one-third of the emissions associated with ground-level ozone, reducing driving is a good way to help improve air quality. Ozone Alerts are issued when ground-level ozone reaches high levels.

These levels are dangerous for people with respiratory problems, as well as for healthy adults and children playing, working and exercising outdoors. Ozone’s harmful effects can include eye, nose and throat irritation; chest pain; coughing; nausea; and headaches. Ozone can also trigger asthma attacks, permanently damaging a person’s lungs. Children, senior citizens, those working or playing outdoors, and people with respiratory disease are at a higher risk from ozone exposure.

The Metro and IndeBus will have routes in operation on Saturday. The JO and Unified Government Transit do not operate on Saturdays.

Ozone Alert days are noted on The Metro buses’ overhead signs. They are also broadcast by local media outlets. To plan the day’s commute by bus call the Regional Call Center at (816) 221-0660 on weekdays between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. You can also visit [url=http://www.kcata.org]http://www.kcata.org[/url] to look up routes and schedules or use the Trip Planner.  The ozone forecast is available at (913) 383-7557, at [url=http://www.marc.org]http://www.marc.org[/url], on www.twitter.com at @airqkc, and most local weather forecasts.