RTA Encourages Commuters to Celebrate Earth Day_Wednesday

April 22, 2015

Learn the 25 ways transit helps the region

CHICAGO – The Regional Transportation Authority (RTA), along with the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), Metra and Pace, are celebrating Earth Day 2015 today by continuing a weeklong campaign to encourage regular transit riders and those who may not use the system’s public transportation system often to ride the system and celebrate its benefits to our planet.

Earlier this week, the RTA and Service Boards kicked off Earth Day festivities by highlighting five ways transit helps the region each day and will continue to do so throughout the week. The RTA encourages everyone to share this information on social media pages and remind friends and family about the many benefits of transit to our region.

Today’s five benefits of our region’s transit system are:

Preserves the Environment

• Pace is purchasing 91 Compressed Natural Gas buses to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
• CTA and Pace reduce fuel usage by operating hundreds of hybrid buses and paratransit vehicles.
• Metra has installed automatic engine start-stop systems on 78 locomotives, cutting fuel use and diesel emissions.
• CTA energy efficiency projects save over 3 million kilowatt-hours each year.
• CTA’s bus and rail fleet wash systems recycle approximately 80% of the water, saving up to 16 million gallons of water each year.

Earth Day is one of the largest events in the world when people of all ages and backgrounds pledge to improve and protect the environment. The first Earth Day, celebrated nearly 45 years ago, on April 22, 1970, activated 20 million Americans from all walks of life and is widely credited with launching the modern environmental movement. The passage of the landmark Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act and many other groundbreaking environmental laws soon followed.                                    

Please visit the agencies’ social media pages listed below to “like,” “share” and “tweet” about the 25 ways transit helps our region.

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/ChicagoRTA

https://www.facebook.com/thecta

https://www.facebook.com/PaceBus

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/RTA_Chicago

https://twitter.com/cta

https://twitter.com/metraceo

https://twitter.com/PaceSuburbanBus

Learn more about the transit’s system plan for improving sustainability by reading the Chicago Regional Green Transit Plan at www.RTAChicago.org. CTA’s Going Green site at www.transitchicago.com. Learn more about Pace’s “Go Green with Pace” by visiting www.pacebus.com. Visit www.gettingamericatowork.com/standil to see the full list of 25 ways Transit Helps the Region.

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About the RTA

The Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) is the only transit agency charged with regional financial oversight, funding, and transit planning for the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), Metra and Pace bus and paratransit.    The RTA region serves two million riders each weekday in six counties with 7,200 transit route miles throughout Northeastern Illinois.  The Agency also provides customer services including on-line and telephone travel planning assistance and travel training for seniors and people with disabilities.  For more information, visit www.RTAchicago.org.