The American Public Transportation Association reports that Americans took 2.6 billion trips on public buses and subways in the first quarter of this year. That's 85 million more trips than during the same time frame last year.

Although local public transportation numbers are not nearly as large, they are also reporting increases in riders. Directors of the City of Ocala and Marion County Suntran Bus Service say they now have over 1400 riders a day. That's 100 more riders than they had at the beginning of the year. In Gainesville, RTS overall ridership is up about 2.5 percent. The largest reported increases come from the City of Alachua's transit system that provides rides back and forth between Alachua and Gainesville.

Thursday is the American Public Transportation Association's "Dump the Pump Day" where they encourage people who have never used public transportation to ride the bus to work instead of driving.