Free Transit Rides Set for Oct. 7 to Mark California Clean Air Day

Pasadena Transit and Pasadena Dial-A-Ride will offer free rides on Wednesday, Oct. 7, in observance of California Clean Air Day, the statewide effort to cut vehicle pollution, according to the City of Pasadena.

The free-fare day caps a month of promotions the city’s two systems are running for SoCal Transit Month, a regional campaign to get residents to ride more and drive less. It lands in a region with a stubborn air problem: the Los Angeles-Long Beach area again ranked as the most ozone-polluted metropolitan area in the nation in the American Lung Association’s 2026 “State of the Air” report, a distinction it has held in 26 of the report’s 27 years.

On Oct. 7, riders can board Pasadena Transit’s six local routes and its curb-to-curb Dial-A-Ride service without paying a fare. A regular Pasadena Transit ride normally costs 75 cents, with fares of 50 cents for K-12 students and 35 cents for seniors 60 and older and riders with disabilities; up to two children five and younger ride free with a fare-paying adult, according to the city.

California Clean Air Day falls on the first Wednesday of October each year and is organized by the Coalition for Clean Air, a statewide nonprofit. The initiative is “built on the idea that shared experiences unite people to action,” the group says. Foothill Transit and Metrolink have announced free rides across their systems on Oct. 7 as well, and Metro will also offer free rides as part of the regionwide effort, according to the City of Pasadena.

The free-ride day closes out SoCal Transit Month, now in its third year, which Move LA produces with partners including the Coalition for Clean Air and Metro as title sponsor. Organizers have scheduled dozens of transit events across Southern California through the month, aimed at coaxing residents to try transit and trim single-occupancy car trips. Move LA Executive Director Eli Lipmen has said the region’s transit is “often overlooked and underappreciated.”

Throughout the month, riders can log trips on RideContest at https://ridecontest.com/ to earn badges and prizes and add to a running leaderboard for each participating agency, and the city is encouraging riders to log Pasadena Transit trips through Sept. 30. A full list of regional events is posted at https://www.socaltransitmonth.org/calendar, and residents can take the Clean Air Pledge at https://www.cleanairday.org/pledge/. Pasadena Transit is also carrying out a Zero-Emission Bus Transition Plan to move its fleet away from fossil fuels.