Video: Drivers urged to 'Dump the Pump' today

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LYNNWOOD, Wash. - It's national Dump the Pump Day - a day aimed at getting drivers to abandon their cars and use public transit.

With gas prices raising frustrations and squeezing budgets, organizers expect a strong turn out across seven counties.

The number of Puget Sound residents using public transit is at record high levels for vanpools, trains, buses and streetcars. 520,000 people in Lynnwood use them every day, but for those who've never tried it, here's your chance. This is what people will do: Park at a park and ride and pick up a "I Dumped the Pump" sticker.

$3.15 a gallon gas was last year's Dump the Pump motivation. This year with gas prices hovering around $4.50 and up, Dump the Pump may be taken more seriously than ever. In fact, Thursday may be a great day to vent anger over the gas price gouge, thumb your nose at the pump, leave the car behind and hop on public transit.

Seven transit agencies spread across Puget Sound - King, Kitsap, Pierce, Snohomish and Thurston counties - are urging commuters to try. In all, the seven counties offer 447 bus routes.

According to AAA, the national average for a gallon of regular unleaded is currently $4.07 a gallon. In Washington state, the average is $4.33. The average going rate in the Seattle-Bellevue-Everett area is $4.39.