Public Transportation Offers Best Travel Option for Family Fun

August 1, 2016

RTA Trip Planner offers easy way to plan routes

Family fun is just a short ride away and the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) is reminding riders that public transportation offers a fast and convenient way to get around the region. Enjoy a day out with the family by taking a bus or train to avoid sitting in traffic and paying for parking.

Riders can use the RTA’s Trip Planner to plan travel and select routes with ADA accessible services when necessary.  It is the only online site in the region that provides a variety of options for getting around by using transit, walking, bicycling and driving.  

Earlier this summer, Metra kicked off its summer fares promotion, offering up to three children, age 11 and under, a free ride with every fare paying adult. The promotion will run through Labor Day. Pace bus continues to offer free boarding to children 7 and under with a fare paying adult. Don’t forget that new school year is just around the corner and the Chicago Transit Authority continues to offer students, 20 years and younger, a reduced fare on school days between 5:30 a.m. and 8:30 p.m.

For more information on how to play your next trip, visit the RTA Trip Planner.

Enjoy some of these featured events:

• Family Kite Festival - The skies will be alive with kites in Berens Park, 493 Oaklawn Ave., Elmhurst, on August 6 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Midwest's best professional kite flyers will kick off the third annual event, complete with stunts and tricks from professional kite flyers. Learn more about Kite Fest.

• Lurie Garden - Stroll this beautiful garden at Millennium Park, 201 E Randolph St., Chicago, and enjoy some of the most dramatic foliage, including a 15-foot-high “shoulder” hedge, cross the hardwood footbridge. Be inspired to learn about and enjoy this natural world daily from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Learn more about Lurie Garden.

• Maggie Daley Park - Enjoy this park at 337 E. Randolph St., Chicago, that will allow a kid’s imagination take flight with a climbing wall, play garden, enchanted forest with a mirrored maze and kaleidoscope, among many other family-friendly features. The park is open daily from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Learn more about Maggie Daley Park.