The RTA Celebrates World Car Free Day on 9/22!

September 18, 2019

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

We want to introduce you to an RTA’er who lives “car free” every day.  Alex Devlin recently joined the RTA as a Senior Planner for Local Planning. He hails from St. Louis where he worked at Trailnet, a non-profit bike and pedestrian advocacy group. Here is his perspective on how the Chicago region helps him be car-free.

“When I was living in St. Louis, I was pretty close to being car-free. When I moved to Chicago this year the transit options and bicycle infrastructure made selling the car an easy choice. I love how accommodating most of Chicago is to pedestrians and transit riders.

When I was considering relocating to Chicago from St. Louis everyone warned me about the increase in cost of living. But since I sold my car, I can skip out on the expenses tied to owning a car so my cost of living has decreased substantially. The public transportation system here also gives me an opportunity to start the day without getting stressed. It puts my mind at ease, and I feel in control.

The infrastructure around the Loop and throughout my neighborhood feels like they’re making pedestrians the priority. It feels like I’m being rewarded for doing the right thing and not clogging up the road with a car.

I encourage everyone that owns a car to try living car-free for a little bit. I’m sure they will see the benefits right away.”

Thanks to Alex for letting us feature him for World Car Free Day!

Whether or not you usually ride our system, World 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.