Out and About in Chicago: Young and Old Find Adventure on the CTA

Families that ride together...

Chrissy Lyons of Chicago has fond memories of summers with her grandmother on the city's Northside. Her grandmother never drove, but she would still take Chrissy and her sisters to a Cubs game each week. They hopped on the Addison bus just in time to buy some tickets, grab a hot dog and holler at the players for autographs before the game.

Andrea Shaffer, of Chicago and mother of two, has rarely owned a car and depends entirely on the public transportation to move her family around the city. In fact, she prefers it to the hassle of car seats and finding parking. Both her children love the adventure of being out in the city. They recommend the Cicero bus for its friendly fellow passengers who always seem to have a treat to share. And, Grace, Andrea's oldest, is convinced that one Halloween night on their way to Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood she met a real Autumnal Fairy dancing on the red line train.

Chicago public transportation can work for you

With a little leg-work, families young and old can make the public transportation systems in Chicago work for them, too. The CTA (Chicago Transit Authority), PACE (our suburban bus system), Metra (our suburban commuter rail system) and the City of Chicago itself offer several special programs to making moving about Chicago easier for youngest and oldest traveler.

The Chicago Free Trolley

True to its name, this free trolley runs between the major attractions downtown including the Museum Campus, Michigan Avenue and Navy Pier. The shuttle runs every 20-30 minutes daily in the summer and on Saturdays and Sundays during the off-season. Plus, it connects directly to both CTA and Metra, eliminating the need to drive downtown, find parking and hike it to the destination.

Reduced rates for seniors and kids

All the public transportation systems offer special discounted fares for children and seniors. Anyone under seven rides for free on CTA and PACE. Both also offer discounted rates to seniors through their Reduced Fare Program. A special pass must be obtained beforehand from the Regional Transit Authority to pay the reduced rate for seniors. Children over 7 riding CTA or PACE to school can also apply for a Student Reduced Fare permit, allowing them to ride at about half the full fare rate. Again an application must be completed beforehand and can be obtained from the child's school. The program also runs in the summer to align with summer educational programming. They also opened up this program to home-schooled children. Atutumama Okotie, Fare Media Specialist at the CTA, said that they felt all children deserved to benefit from the program and were "creative in looking for ways to give [all] children" the permits. For more information on passes for home-schooled children, call the Student Permit Section at 312.932.2926.

The city runs two programs for seniors out of Chicago's Department on Aging

Mayor Daley's Senior Shuttle is free and runs weekly to neighborhood Aldi, Domink's or Jewel Food stores and allows seniors to shop in groups and socialize with their neighbors.

In order to run basic errands not involving the weekly grocery shopping, seniors can use a second service, the Senior Building Transportation Service. Trips to the bank, drug store or department store are handled on a handicapped accessible vehicle. For more information on either of these programs, call the Department on Aging at 312.744.4016.

Special access information

These programs all facilitate transportation throughout Chicagoland for families and seniors, but there remain some challenges for people who have difficulty getting around using the often imposing stairways on the CTA. Although all CTA and PACE buses are fully handicapped accessible, not every train station is. All "El" train lines have some stations that offer elevators and other handicapped accessible accommodations, but not all stations have been updated. For a list of each accessible rail station, see Transit Chicago or call the RTA Travel Information Center at 312.836.7000. To check whether a particular station's elevator is in working order, call the CTA elevator status hotline at 1.888.YOURCTA, ext. 5. All of the Metra's train lines are also accessible but again not every individual train station is. For a list of which stations have handicapped accessible accommodations see Metra Rail Accessibility Information or call Metra Passenger Services at 312.322.6777. For general information about Chicagoland's policy on disabilities and public transportation go to RTA's for Persons with Disabilities information.

With a little research the various public transportation systems open up all of Chicagoland to young and old alike. Taking CTA, PACE or Metra can be quicker and easier in many instances than driving and finding parking. However, all of these public transportation systems have been operating under a growing cloud of fiscal uncertainty. Budget crises seem annually to threaten the future of many of these programs or at least the percentage of fare discounts they offer. Atutumama Okotie, Fare Media Specialist at the CTA, assures that the Student Permit program at least is not in much danger, but only time can tell how well other services survive a budget crunch. In the meantime, take advantage of these programs and get out and see Chicago!

Useful links in this article

The Chicago Free Trolley

Reduced Fare Program

Weekend Fun Kits

Transit Chicago

Metra Rail Accessibility Information