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"Transportation Freedom Day is the day of the year on which a median-income household has earned enough money to pay for transportation for the year," explains The California Public Interest Research Group (CALPIRG) about Tuesday, when L.A. celebrates it. "Americans who live in areas with good access to public transportation tend to spend less on transportation than those who are fully dependent on cars. As a result, residents of transit-friendly neighborhoods achieve 'Transportation Freedom' earlier in the year, and can spend more of their income on other things," the group says. For example, San Francisco's SOMA neighborhood celebrates on February 8th while the city at large does so on February 25th. San Jose takes February 20th, Orange County takes March 5th and Santa Monica takes March 9th.
