Seniors Ride Free
by 
Matt B on March 17th, 2008
People 65 years old or over can ride free on Chicago’s public transportation starting today. The free ride programs include the CTA, Metra, and Pace systems which serve Chicago and its surrounding counties (DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will).
Back in January, legislators agreed to a sales and real-estate-transfer tax hike to help bail out the financially struggling CTA. However, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich wouldn’t sign it unless a provision was added: seniors ride for free.
Seniors must have the Senior Reduced Fare Card to take advantage of the free transit. Those who already have a Card are automatically registered. Seniors who do not have a Reduced Fare Card can register at one of the RTA’s Customer Service Centers (PDF list of registration sites).
For more information and details, check http://www.rtachicago.com/
Photo credit: CTA
Tags: blagojevich, buses, chicago, cta, metra, news, pace, public-transportation, seniors, suburbs, trains| 3.0 |
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3 opinions for Seniors Ride Free
Go Chicago Travel Blog Blog Archive » Seniors Ride Free in Chicago
Mar 21, 2008 at 2:48 pm
[…] B over at The Chicago Traveler clued us into a new development in Chicago’s public transportation system: senior citizens with a Reduced Fare Card can ride Chicago’s CTA, Meta, and Pace systems for […]
May 12, 2008 at 4:40 pm
My Dad has an ID to ride for reduce fair which is now free. He mentioned that the ID will expire in June. Would he need a replacement card? Where can he apply for one near Morton Grove, IL?
May 12, 2008 at 5:01 pm
As I understand it, yes, your father would have to go to a registration center in order to renew his permit. A PDF document is available at this link (http://www.rtachicago.com/CMS400Min/uploadedFiles/Sr_Registration_Centers.pdf), listing all of the Registration Centers by their zip code. Or you can call 836-7000 from any area code. Give your zip code to the operator, and they will let you know which location is nearest to you.
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