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On a normal day, a ride on Columbia transit can cost $0.75 to $1.50.

But Thursday wasn't a normal day -- it was Transit Day, part of Columbia's eleventh annual Bike, Walk and Wheel Week, so rides were free all day.

Trevor Harris, a volunteer with the PedNet Coalition in Columbia, spent Transit Day talking with residents about the importance of the bus system and encouraged them to spread the message.

"Encourage them to think about taking the bus just for one small trip," Harris said. "Maybe it's not about making this radical switch where you park the car and you're on the bus for every ride of the week, but maybe pick one ride out of the week to make a short trip by bus."

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, public transit is beneficial for the health of both bus riders and the community.

Public transit reduces the number of cars on the roadway and improves air quality. The CDC also found people who ride the bus get more exercise, since they are usually walking between bus stops and destinations.

"Transit is especially important for people who don't have any other option," Harris said. "If you're too young to drive, too old to drive, you're disabled, you're low income and can't afford a vehicle, transit is essential for you to be mobile, to get around."

For many, it's just that – essential.

Michael Bukowski, a public transit rider, said, "Without it, I'd be pretty much paralyzed. I wouldn't be able to go anywhere or do anything."

Curtis Settles, another rider, said, "I don't have transportation . . . I don't have a car, so it helps me get around Columbia a lot – the library, doctor, grocery store."

The free bus trips started at 6:25 a.m. on Thursday and go until 9:30 p.m. Transit Day sponsors and supporters are hoping to break Columbia transit's all-time, one-day ridership in an effort to get people talking about the possibility of expanding the system.

Their goal? Five-thousand riders