Tomorrow is the fourth annual Dump the Pump Day, a national effort to get people out of their cars.

It's sponsored by the American Public Transit Association, which has lots of facts sheets, if you want to learn more. Those folks want everyone on, well, public transportation. But really, you could also walk, bike, hop, whatever, so long as you are giving your car a rest.

The goal is to save money, protect the planet, deduce dependence on foreign oil, etc.

"If you have been thinking about changing the way you commute to work everyday by trying tranist, Thursday is the day to give it a try," Gov. O'Malley said in a statement. "In the past year as gas prices have fluctuated, transit ridership has increased 5 percent as more people have discovered that it is a cost effective way to get around and an excellent alternative to driving."

The relase also says people can save $8,000 a year by taking public transportation instead of driving and living with one less car. For every $1 invested in public transit infrastructure, $6 is generated in economic returns to communities. Public transit also save 900,000 fill-ups each day or 4.2 billion gallons of gas a year. Carbon emissions is also cut by 20 pounds a day.

For information on public transportation in Maryland, go to www.mtamaryland.com or call 410-539-5000.

And if you want to see how much you can save by pedalling to work, Kiplingers.com has set up a handy-dandy calculator.