A new local commercial will begin airing this weekend.
It was created by the City of San Luis Obispo to encourage the use of public transportation.
You can see the 30 second commercial now on the city’s Facebook and Instagram pages, but the San Luis Obispo Transit Department is now bringing it to an even larger audience by playing the ad during the NFL divisional playoff games; it's a move they hope creates a shift in society about taking the bus.
"[Riding the bus] ends up being one of the most economical trips you can take. It's more affordable than taxis, and it's also more environmentally friendly because you're traveling en mass so you're not creating as many emissions as you would traveling in a single occupancy vehicle," Transit Manager for the City of San Luis Obispo Public Works Department, Gamaliel Anguiano, said.
Cutting down emissions to make San Luis Obispo carbon neutral is a big goal for the city.
"Our elected officials have made it very clear that the city should continue to be a leader in climate action and reducing emissions and one of the strategies is by encouraging public transportation," Anguiano said.
Anguiano says ridership of city buses has been growing each year by about 4-percent, but this year ridership seems to be leveling off.
Some people who don't take the bus say they prefer the peace of mind they get from driving their own cars.
"I think if the schedule was a little more flexible it would be something I would do, but for the most part, I want to get to work quickly and get home quickly. I don't want to wait to drop people off or pick people up," Los Osos resident Candice Conti said.
Frequent riders of the bus say they enjoy the people they get to meet from riding together.
"There's a lot of different people who I probably wouldn't rub shoulders with otherwise--a lot of locals and people of different social classes that I get to interact with," bus rider Bijan Navid said.
"It's pretty safe and clean. I was skeptical at first but now I take it all the time," said bus rider, Christopher Osegura.
The NFL playoff games when you can catch the new ad are both on Sunday. The Tennessee Titans are taking on the Kansas City Chiefs first at around 12:05 p.m. on the West Coast.
The City of San Luis Obispo estimates its city buses takes riders on close to one million trips per year.
