Anyone celebrating the start of 2024 in Chicago won’t have to worry about bus or train fares.
CTA will offer free bus and train rides from 10 p.m. New Year’s Eve until 4 a.m. the next morning, the agency announced.
Metra will offer free rides on trains arriving or departing downtown stations after 6 p.m. New Year’s Eve.
“We are always happy to provide free rides for our customers as they celebrate New Year’s Eve with relatives and friends,” CTA President Dorval R. Carter, Jr. said in a news release.
During the free-ride period, customers don’t need to tap their Ventra cards at rail station turnstiles or while boarding buses, the agency said. No refunds will be given to customers who pay during the free-ride period.
Miller Lite will pay the cost of all rides taken and help offset the operating costs to run CTA service during the six-hour period.
CTA has been in partnership with Miller Lite for the program since 2012 and have given nearly a million free rides since the partnership began, according to a CTA spokesperson.
On some Metra lines, the train service will hold the last departing train to accommodate those participating in downtown New Year’s celebrations. The last trains are scheduled to leave between 1:15 a.m. and 1:25 a.m., depending on the line, Metra said in a news release.
Alcohol will be prohibited on all Metra trains after 7 p.m.
