02/15/00
Starting Monday, February 14, 2000, Chicago Transit Authority Transit Cards can be purchased from a vending machine located at the Family Pavilion at Chicago's leading tourist attraction, Navy Pier. Located at 600 E. Grand Avenue, Navy Pier serves over 80 million visitors a year. CTA Transit Cards are a convenient and rechargeable method of payment for trips on trains and buses.
The CTA is currently testing the use of vending machines at locations away from CTA property. ?Off-site? vending machines are being located in areas of high transit use which do not have direct access to a CTA 'L' station. For instance, a machine is located at the Feinberg Pavilion at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Transit Card vending machines have also been placed at six Dominick's Finer Foods stores throughout the city. This initial program may be extended to other locations as the potential demand is evaluated.
"Placing vending machines that sell our cost-saving and flexible fare cards at places such as Navy Pier is another way to make CTA travel easier for our customers. Although there are fare card vending machines at all of the CTA's train stations, many of our bus customers do not have access to these locations," said CTA President Frank Kruesi. ?With so much activity, Navy Pier is a prime location for visitors and residents alike to get access tot he convenience of the CTA system."
?Providing the fare card vending machine to our guests is another way we?re trying to make transportation to and from Navy Pier easier," said Scott R. Fawell, CEO of the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, which owns and operates Navy Pier and McCormick Place. "With six CTA lines servicing Navy Pier daily, many or our visitors are already bus customers. We?re confident that they will find that this service makes their visit more convenient and that those who are not regular bus riders will be encouraged to ride the CTA."
As at 'L' stations, customers can use the machines to purchase new Transit Cards or to add value to previously purchased cards. And as with all CTA Automated Vending Machines, the standard $1 bonus will be earned for every $10 spent on transit cards.
Travel information is available from the RTA Travel Center at 836-7000 from all area codes or by calling the Customer Service Hotline at 1-888-YOUR-CTA.
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