Bus rides will be free across the Colorado Springs area, June through August, on the Mountain Metropolitan Transit system.

This is the second year that MMT has taken part in the Zero Fare for Better Air initiative — a collaborative, statewide initiative designed to reduce ground-level ozone by increasing use of public transit. Through a partnership with the Colorado Energy Office, MMT is joining other Colorado public transit agencies by offering zero fares on all bus and ADA paratransit services.

The program is funded through the state legislature, which passed House Bill 23-1101 this year, which supports the ozone season transit grant program. The program is designed to give people a chance to try public transportation and lower the number of cars on the road during the summer when Colorado usually sees its highest ozone levels.

“Mountain Metro is excited to take part in this program again this year”, Acting Transit Services Manager Lan Rao said in a statement. “Last year we offered the Zero Fare for Better Air program for the month of August and MMT provided over 300,000 passenger trips. Not only is this going to help the air here in Colorado, it’s also a great opportunity for people to try transit!”