Thursday is Dump the Pump Day — the national effort to get people out of their cars and on public transportation. Transit agencies nationwide will be promoting buses and light trail. Other groups will be promoting bicycling and walking.

In St. Louis, Metro will not be offering free transit passes like it did last year. The transit agency is too cash-strapped. “We’re not in a position to offer free rides,” said Angela Fletcher-Mabry, spokeswoman for Metro. But it’s partnering with St. Clair County Transit District to get the word out.    

This past year has been a bitter sweet one for transit agencies. Nationwide, ridership has increased. But nine out of 10 transit agencies have had to raise fares and/or cut service as a result of declining revenue, according to the American Public Transit Association. Transit systems generally rely on property or sales tax revenue  to subsidize their operations, and that revenue is in decline.