This Weekend is the AltCar Expo in Santa Monica

Friday and Saturday Oct. 1st & 2nd the 5th annual AltCar Expo will be held at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. Admission is free. A map of the venue are on the event's website along with a map showing which Big Blue Bus routes serve the site and a page extolling the free bike valet.

Sadly the trend of an increasing presence of non-vehicular transportation at the Expo Damien noted in 2009 has reversed somewhat this year.  Due to funding shortages the organizer's were no longer able to allow local alternative transportation non-profits free booths. But Bikerowave, Dahon and the L.A. Bike Coalition are exhibitors giving bikes a presence at the event while transit is represented by Big Blue Bus and Metro.

None of the general speaker programs on Saturday deal with bike issues but there will be a panel from 11:15 am-12:15 pm entitled What Will It Take To Get You on the Bus? Moderator is L.A. Times business columnist David Lazarus with the panelists including:

*Conan Cheung, Deputy Executive Officer of Service Planning and Scheduling at Metro
*Hasan Ikhrata, Executive Director at the Southern California Association of Governments
*Stephanie G. Negriff, Director of Transit Services for Santa Monica's Big Blue Bus

By the way, I am slated to help Metro with its booth. They were short on volunteers due to their heavy presence at the Home Show being held also this weekend at the L.A. Convention Center. Kymberleigh Richards in her capacity as a Governance Council member took the lead in making sure Metro would have a presence at the Santa Monica event and asked me to help out. So if you attend either day come by and say hi.