Released Sept. 22, 2009

Contact: Margo O’Hara
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

Thousands of cars take the day off for inaugural Chicagoland Car-Free Day

Thousands of people left their cars behind for the inaugural Chicagoland Car-Free Day today, which was part of the international World Car-Free Day.

“Congratulations to everyone who committed to getting around in green and active ways today,” said Steve Schlickman, Executive Director, RTA. “We had an opportunity to show that our buses and trains offer a multitude of options to getting around the Chicagoland area. The RTA is pleased that we had so many people make a commitment to use these options today and we hope they continue to do so.”

The Active Transportation Alliance partnered with RTA, CTA, Pace and Metra to promote the event and encourage people to get around with transit, on bike and on foot.

More than 1,100 people signed the pledge to go car-free today and get around in more active and greener ways. Chicago’s City Council also passed a resolution introduced by Ald. Rey Colon designating today Car-Free Day.

“Now it’s time to make Car-Free Day every day,” said Rob Sadowsky, Active Trans executive director. “Biking, walking and transit in Chicagoland are healthy and clean options we can incorporate into our daily routine.”

Communities around the region held their own car-free events, including the Village of Skokie who designated the day car-free and a Green Parent car-free play date in Seneca Park. A Break the Gridlock car-free celebration is also scheduled today at 5:30 p.m. at Daley Plaza.

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

The website provides commuters with biking, walking and transit resources to make it easy to leave the car at home. Resources like RTA’s trip planner, www.goroo.com, bike commuting tips and www.PaceRideShare.com will make help commuters every step of the way.

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.”

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).
###