CTA’s convenient service gets you closer to the festivities at the lowest price
Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day this weekend? CTA can help you save some “green” by taking you and your friends much closer to the parade and river dyeing action than other travel options can and at an unbeatable price!
On Saturday, March 16, ride-hailing vehicles won’t be allowed to pick up and drop off in the area bounded by State Street, Ohio and Roosevelt—making CTA the obvious choice for safe, convenient and affordable service to and from the celebrations.
CTA will provide more frequent service on the Red Line as well as longer trains on Brown, Blue, Orange, Green and Purple Lines on Saturday, March 16. Customers can also use the following rail stations and bus routes to get as close to the celebrations as possible.
Chicago River Dyeing – Sat. 3/16 at 9 a.m.
- Nearest rail stations: Clark/Lake, State/Lake, Red Line Lake and Grand
- Nearest bus routes: #3, #4, #6, #J14, #20, #22, #29, #36, #56, #60, #62, #124, #146, #147, #151 and #157
St. Patrick’s Day Parade - Sat. 3/16 at 12 p.m.
- Nearest rail stations: Lake (Red), Blue Line Washington, Monroe and Jackson, Washington/Wabash, Adams/Wabash and Harold Washington Library
- Nearest bus routes: #3, #4, #6, #7, #J14, #20, #29, #36, #56, #60, #62, #124, #126, #147, #151 and #157
We recommend loading your Ventra card with cash value or unlimited-ride passes a few days in advance so you can skip the lines and get straight to the fun! More information about purchasing fares is below.
Note: Street closures, reroutes and traffic congestion may affect the estimated bus arrival times on CTA Bus Tracker. For the most up-to-date information, please visit: transitchicago.com/alerts.
Fare Information
The CTA recommends that customers plan ahead and purchase fares in advance to decrease travel times and avoid long lines at rail stations. Below are some of the convenient methods to pay your way on the CTA:
- Existing Ventra card users: Customers can load their registered Ventra cards ahead of time with either transit value or unlimited ride passes (1-day, 3-day, 7-day and 30-day) via the free Ventra app, at rail stations, online or at nearly 1,000 local retailers (for locations available or to download the app, visit ventrachicago.com).
- Visitors: Available at Ventra vending machines located in all CTA rail stations are 1-day unlimited ride tickets ($10) or single-ride tickets ($3 at all rail stations except O’Hare, which costs $5) that offer up to two transfers within two hours. Customers can also obtain reloadable Ventra fare cards at all Ventra vending machines.
- Electronic fare payments: Customers can pay their fare with contactless bankcards and mobile wallets (e.g. Apple Pay or Android Pay), which will deduct $2.50 for each tap of the card or mobile device on buses or at rail stations. Transfers are not available with these payment options – to transfer, customers will need to obtain a Ventra fare card or ticket.
- Cash: Cash payments are accepted on buses and require exact fare. No transfers are available with cash fares, only with Ventra fare cards and tickets.
Stay in the Loop on CTA Service
Plan your trip using the Google Transit Trip Planner. Be sure to also check out CTA on Facebook or Twitter (@CTA) for system travel updates and alerts. For details about all CTA service, call 312-836-7000 or visit the CTA website at transitchicago.com.
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