Through a partnership with Miller Lite there will be free service from 10 p.m. on New Year’s Eve until 4 a.m. the following morning
Once again, CTA is partnering with Miller Lite to offer the New Year’s Eve Free Rides program to our customers. Free rides will be available across the system on both CTA trains and buses from 10 p.m. on Sunday, December 31 until 4 a.m. Monday, January 1. The Miller Lite Free Rides program encourages Chicago residents to ring in the New Year in a safe and responsible way.
“We are always happy to provide free rides for our customers as they celebrate New Year’s Eve with relatives and friends,” said CTA President Dorval R. Carter, Jr. “We extend our gratitude for Miller Lite as they continue to sponsor the Free Rides program every year so that our customers can have a safe and affordable transit option as they ring in 2024.”
During the free-ride period, customers do not need to tap their Ventra Cards or personal contactless bankcards, phones, or watches at rail station turnstiles or while boarding buses. Signs will be posted reminding customers of the free ride period. As in past years, no refunds will be issued if customers elect to touch their fare card or other form of payment on fare-card readers during the free-ride period.
For customers traveling to and from events around Chicago this New Year’s Eve outside the free ride period, the CTA recommends using contactless bankcards, including bankcards on phones and watches to tap directly at the Ventra readers. Ventra allows riders to use Apple Pay, Google Pay or Samsung Pay, or any contactless credit or debit card, for pay-as-you-go rides ($2.25 for bus, $2.50 for train).
Riders can also purchase unlimited ride passes (1-day is $5 and 3-day is $15) or add value to their Ventra cards for pay-per-ride in advance via the Ventra app, at rail station Ventra vending machines, online or at over 800 local retailers - for locations visit ventrachicago.com.
As part of the partnership, Miller Lite pays a fee that covers the cost of all rides taken and helps offset the operating costs to run CTA service during the hours in which the promotion is offered.
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