CTA Offers Free Rides on First Day of School

The CTA will be offering free rides on trains and buses for Chicago public school students on the first day of school.

From 5:30 a.m. until 8:30 p.m., Tuesday, September 8 (the day after Labor Day), students and the adults accompanying them get a free ride to and from school, in the fifth year of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s “First Day, Free Rides” program, which began in 2011.

The purpose of the program is to encourage attendance on the first day of school, which is linked to higher attendance rates throughout the school year.

Last year, CTA provided more than 120,000 free student rides on the first day of school and provided about 28 million reduced student rides throughout the academic year.

“This program has become a tradition in promoting school attendance and in helping students get to school safely and on time from Day One, and we are proud to support Mayor Emanuel’s efforts to encourage attendance on the first day,” CTA President Dorval Carter Jr. said in a news release.

The CTA will also continue to offer deeply discounted student fares during the 2015-16 school year. Students enrolled in school will pay just 75-cents to ride CTA trains and buses while school is in session from 5:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Beyond school hours, elementary students ages 7-11 pay reduced fares of $1 on the bus and $1.10 on rail. Individuals 12 and older pay full fares.

The mayor and CTA lowered students fares two years ago to make transit more affordable for students during school hours.