07/20/2006   English German
  Edition # 62  
San Francisco, 07-20-2006

Spare the Air
Figure [1]: Spare the Air Day -- Drive and Save

Angelika San Francisco is notorious for its natural air conditioning, namely the cool air and fog. This makes many tourists, dressed only in T-shirts and shorts, shiver during the summer months. The fog forms because the hot air from inland flows towards the ocean, which is quite cold, and -- voila -- everything is enveloped as if in cotton. The meteorologists amongst you may forgive me for this simplified explanation.

Since the temperature difference is particularly large in the summer months, there is also the most fog between June and August. Now, you shouldn't think that we are constantly sitting in a gray soup. During the day, the fog clears, the city heats up to over 75F, and only later in the late afternoon does the fog slowly creep back into the city. Neighborhoods close to the ocean are most affected; those who live in the "Richmond" or "Sunset" pay less rent but sit in the soup more often. Our neighborhood "Noe Valley" and the nearby "Mission" are considered the sunniest. However, the fog phenomenon provides the city of San Francisco with a pleasant breeze, and thus generally good air. Smog, we like to joke, we generously leave to Los Angeles.

However, there are occasionally hot days without wind that cause ozone levels to skyrocket. And when the thermometer rises in San Francisco, people in the rest of the Bay Area groan and moan even more, because in cities like Mountain View or San Jose, which are further inland, the thermometer rises above 95F, and the heat becomes unbearable. To improve air quality on such days, the "Bay Area Air Quality Management District" introduced the so-called "Spare-the-Air" days in 1991.

If the ozone levels are expected to exceed a certain value, the day is declared a "Spare the Air Day" in advance. To encourage people to leave their air-polluting cars, all public transportation in San Francisco and the surrounding area ("Bay Area") is free on those days. Even the train that runs from San Francisco through Silicon Valley to San Jose is free all day. Previously, this only applied to the morning commute, but this year it has been extended to the entire day. Surprising, isn't it? The whole initiative actually seems to be working, as 10% more people use public transportation on such days. Additionally, there is hope that some people will develop a preference for it and continue using the subway, streetcars, trains, and buses.

Figure [2]: Ticket validators are taped over on 'Spare the Air Day'.

Unfortunately, there were three hot days in June that were declared "Spare-the-Air" days, which exhausted the budget for this season, running from June to mid-October for the "Spare-the-Air" program. Hmm! However, the responsible authorities scraped together an additional 5.3 million, partly from the "Vehicle Registration" fund (similar to the German vehicle tax). This amount will probably be enough for three more days this year. The various transportation companies receive compensation from this source for the money they lose.

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