After a city in Iowa made its buses free, ridership jumped, traffic cleared, and the air was cleaner
In August 2023, Iowa City, Iowa made its bus fares completely free in an effort to lower car emissions and encourage people to take public transit. It was so popular, the city council just voted to extend it another.
The program has been successful on a number of fronts: ridership has surpassed prepandemic levels by 18%, bus drivers report less congested streets to navigate, and people drove 1.8 million fewer miles on the city’s streets.
To its initial goal: emissions dropped by 778 metric tons of carbon dioxide a year, the equivalent of taking 167 vehicles off the road entirely.
Why is this good news?When you make public transit affordable (ahem, free!) and accessible — people want to, and will use it. Less traffic is safer for cars that are on the road, pedestrians, bicyclists, and more, and cleaner air is just better for everyone.
Shop the best gifts that give back to national parks and public lands
If you’ve been fortunate enough to travel to national parks and forests, you know how breathtaking and unique they can be — it’s no wonder folks want commemorative t-shirts and maps to treasure their national park outings.
And — even more importantly — these beloved sites are under attack. Now more than ever, they need our support and enthusiasm, and we can do that with our holiday gifting, too.
*All these recommendations were independently and honestly reviewed by the Good Good Good team. Some of these recommendations include affiliate links, which means if you buy anything from this email, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. (Thanks for your support!)
People doing good
Matt McClain/The Washington Post
Volunteers and retirees are helping maintain national forests abandoned by the U.S. government
Since the start of the year, the U.S. Forest Service has lost nearly 6,000 staffers as a result of firings, resignations, and retirements encouraged by the Trump administration — and its left already vulnerable national forests even more at risk.
Volunteers are stepping up to help — and so are retirees. Bill Lee and Del Nelson now spend two mornings a week driving around “their forest” looking for damage to fix. There’s plenty of it, so they prioritize the things that would be life-threatening for a visitor.
Lee struggles knowing it might lead people to believe the forests are doing just fine with less staff — they’re most certainly not — but knows that saving a life is worth it.
*Some of these recommendations may include affiliate links, which means if you buy anything from this email, we may get something in return at no extra cost to you. (Thanks for your support!)
Would you ride public transit more if it was free and/or more accessible?
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