Desire to Go Green Drives Chicagoland Car-Free Day Sept. 22

The Active Transportation Alliance is partnering with RTA, CTA, Pace and Metra to encourage people to get around with transit or on bike and on foot, and asking you to consider joining the thousands of people around Chicagoland who will pledge to leave their cars at home for the inaugural Chicagoland Car-Free Day Sept. 22. Anyone can take the pledge at www.chicagolandcarfree.org and get a coupon for one dollar off a large drink at Caribou Coffee.

Communities around the region are taking part in Chicagoland Car-Free Day with events and special offers, including Break the Gridlock’s One Million Less Cars rally at Daley Plaza at 5:30 p.m. and I-Go Car Sharing’s special discount.

“You will be amazed at the sights and sounds you can experience without a car,” said Rob Sadowsky, executive director at the Active Transportation Alliance. “You will feel re-energized by your new routine while cutting down on carbon.”

Resources like RTA’s trip planner, www.goroo.com, bike commuting tips and www.PaceRideShare.com will help commuters every step of the way.

“The RTA is pleased to partner with the Active Transportation Alliance on Chicagoland’s inaugural Car-Free Day,” said Steve Schlickman, Executive Director of the RTA. “This is a great opportunity for the transit agencies to collaborate and remind commuters that our region has an all-access transit system that’s easily accessible, saves time and money.”

Organizations and communities can still partner with Chicagoland Car-Free Day. Contact Ethan Spotts at ethan@activetrans.org or 312.427.3325 x 287 to learn more.

Chicagoland Car-Free Day Sept. 22 coincides with similar events around the world that encourages people to go sans auto for one day.

Find out more about Chicagoland Car-Free Day at www.chicagolandcarfree.org

Contacts for further information are:
Margo O’Hara, Active Transportation Alliance
312.427.3325 x 224
margo@activetrans.org

Diane Palmer, Director of Communications, RTA
Office: 312-913-3282
Cell: 312-907-6902
palmerd@rtachicago.org

ABOUT METRA
Metra provides more

than 80 million rides annually on 11 rail lines serving more than 100 communities at 239 rail stations in the six-county metropolitan area. For complete schedule information, customers may contact Metra Passenger Services, 312-322-6777, during business hours, visit www.metrarail.com, or call the RTA Travel Information Center at 836-7000 (city or suburbs).

ABOUT ACTIVE TRANS
The Active Transportation Alliance is a non-profit, member-based advocacy organization that works to make bicycling, walking and public transit so safe, convenient and fun that we will achieve a significant shift from environmentally harmful, sedentary travel to clean, active travel. The organization builds a movement around active transportation, encourages physical activity, increases safety and builds a world-class transportation network. Formerly the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation, the Active Transportation Alliance is North America’s largest transportation advocacy organization, supported by more than 6,000 members, 1,000 volunteers and 35 full-time staff. For more information on the Active Transportation Alliance, visit www.activetrans.org or call 312.427.3325.

ABOUT RTA
The RTA provides financial oversight, funding and regional planning for the three public transit operations in Northeastern Illinois: The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) bus and train, Metra commuter rail and Pace suburban bus and paratransit. For more information, visit www.rtachicago.com and www.MovingBeyondCongestion.org.

ABOUT CTA
The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) operates the nation’s second largest public transportation system providing both bus and rail service. On an average weekday, 1.7 million rides are taken on CTA. The CTA is a regional transit system that serves 40 suburbs, in addition to the City of Chicago, and provides 81 percent of the public transit trips in the six-county Chicago Metropolitan-area region either with direct service or connecting service to Metra and Pace.

ABOUT PACE
Pace, the suburban bus division of the RTA, provides fixed route bus, ADA paratransit, dial-a-ride and ridesharing services throughout northeastern Illinois. Pace has the seventh-largest bus fleet in North America, one of the largest vanpool programs in the United States, and its regional ADA Paratransit service is estimated to be the largest such operation in the world. In 2008, total ridership on Pace service was more than 40.5 million, its second largest total in the agency’s 25 year history.”