The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), which operates Muni, along with representatives from the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), the San Mateo County Transit District (SamTrans) and the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit) launched a regional campaign encouraging Bay Area residents to “Go Green” by taking transit. 

The campaign, “Healthier Planet, Healthier You,” features a Website, www.healthierplanethealthieryou.com, as well as print and broadcast advertisements. The two print ad themes offer a playful take on serious environmental and health issues. The first ad encourages Bay Area residents to adopt a “Low Car Diet” while the second highlights the ubiquity of cell phones and asks people to “Answer the Call” from Planet Earth to protect the environment. A television ad will feature a character named Terry Firma as an unhealthy Planet Earth seeking medical attention.

“This is truly a regional campaign with multiple agencies working together because we recognize that people regularly travel throughout the Bay Area,” said SFMTA’s Sr. Executive Director/CEO Nathaniel P. Ford. “We are pleased to work with our colleagues to remind everyone of the connection between transit and improved health for us and our planet.”

This partnership formed in fall 2008 to develop an effective way to spread the message that walking, bicycling and taking public transit are some of the easiest and most cost effective ways to reduce greenhouse gases, protect our environment and improve personal health. The campaign is timed to build on the heightened environmental awareness surrounding Earth Day, which is April 22.