Chicago Public Schools will start classes on Tuesday, and the CTA is helping out with free fares for students and parents for the big day.
The “First Day, Free Rides” program has been a fixture in the city for the last seven school years, and the city hopes that the incentive of free train and bus rides will be enough to boost attendance on the first day of classes.
“Convenient and reliable transportation is an important factor in a student’s success in the classroom,” Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in a statement. “Thousands of CPS students rely on public transportation to travel to and from their classes, and by providing free rides on the first day, we can get them started on the right note.”
According to the CTA, 75-cent fares for elementary and high school students will go into effect beginning on Wednesday, and will be good from 5:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Friday during the school year.
