RTA Lots Of Free Rides

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Aug 11, 2010 9:00PM

So about those free transit rides. While there's been some movement in getting those free rides reduced, it still didn't deter people from taking mass transit for free in droves. The RTA estimated the free rides would increase in 2010 over 2009's totals by about 1 million total rides. But through the first six months of the year, there have already been 2.5 million more free rides taken than all of last year for a total of 37.5 million rides so far in 2010. If the pace keeps up, that's roughly 75 million free rides for the year. According to the Tribune, the free rides are offered to, "senior citizens, disabled military veterans, low-income individuals covered by the state circuit-breaker program and active military personnel in uniform." Even at reduced fare, the rides taken by seniors, for instance, would have provided a healthy chunk of change for the transit agencies that are dealing with service cuts and repair issues. Thanks a lot, Blago.