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Existing cards to be accepted allowing continued free rides for those renewed in Circuit Breaker program
CHICAGO – People with disabilities who are currently registered for free rides on fixed route transit on the CTA, Metra and Pace will still be able to use their cards until July 10 although their cards were set to expire on June 30. Problems with card production led to delays in mailing cards to approximately 19,000 people in the RTA free rides for people with disabilities program. By the end of today, 12,000 Permits will be mailed, but all will not be received in time for the original June 30 expiration date. The remainder of cards will be mailed by the end of the day Friday. The RTA administers the program and worked with the transit agencies to extend the deadline to July 10 so that eligible people with disabilities can continue riding for free. CTA, Metra and Pace bus drivers and train conductors are being told to accept all Circuit Permits that are presented by people with disabilities until the July 10 expiration date. After this date, only the new Circuit Permits with an expiration date of June 30, 2011 will be accepted.
All Circuit Permits were due to expire on June 30. In April the RTA sent notifications about the annual need to renew these Permits that first required applying for continued eligibility in the State of Illinois’ Circuit Breaker program that the Department of Aging administers. There are 19,000 people with disabilities to date that have renewed their eligibility and therefore, they can continue riding for free for another year. All other Circuit Permits will expire on June 30.
The RTA’s customer service center is experiencing a high volume of calls, but eligible riders can be assured that they can continue riding for free, and they can expect to receive their new card by next week at the latest. Only if cards aren’t received by Wednesday, July 7, you should call the customer service center at 312-913-3113. The customer service center is located at 165 N. Jefferson in Chicago.
For people with disabilities not enrolled in the Circuit Breaker program but who are interested in applying for the free rides program, visit www.cbrx.il.gov or call 800-624-2459 (TTY 1-888-206-1327) for more information and to determine if you qualify. The Illinois Department of Aging administers the Circuit Breaker program that requires annually renewals, Income levels for eligibility range from $27,610 or below and up to $45,657 depending on household size.
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