The RTA Celebrates Car Free Day Tomorrow!

September 21, 2018

The RTA is celebrating World Car Free Day by encouraging all those who typically drive personal vehicles to use public transportation instead tomorrow, Saturday, September 22.

Whether or not you usually ride our system, Car Free Day is a great time to ride transit and enjoy its benefits. Riders in our region can save up to $12,000 a year by switching their daily commute from driving to taking public transportation. And, even those sitting in rush hour traffic save $400 a year because it reduces the number of cars on the road.

Don’t just take it from me, here are some people that enjoy the benefits of leaving the car at home and being “Car Free!”

I know exactly how long it will take me to get anywhere in the city - rain or shine!

— Jonty Young (@jontyoung) September 17, 2018

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Rachael from Chicago had this to say:

“My boyfriend and I love being car free! I get more time to clear my head on the train before and after work, and to read. My boyfriend gets a workout in by Divvying to work, and we Divvy all over the city on the weekends. We take the bus to the grocery store and to our favorite plant store. We love taking Metra to visit my parents in the suburbs and taking Amtrak to go to Michigan for the weekend. Yay transit!”

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At Chicago’s Senior Fest in Millennium Park, Mr. Scott stopped by our booth to talk about his love of transit!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqxvM4SWTe0&w=560&h=315]

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Our own employee, Hamood, loves being Car Free:

“I live in Hyde Park and do not need a car to go around the city. For work I bike about a mile to the Garfield CTA Green Line station and commute for around 20 minutes which gives me time to get school work done. Biking gives me much needed cardio to start my day, and it’s far better than driving a car downtown while worrying about traffic and parking. Not having a car allows me not to worry about any tolls, car insurance, and gas, so it saves me a lot of money! One less car on the road means less carbon emissions and that’s better for the environment!”