CTA plans 70th anniversary bash

CHICAGO (AP) - The Chicago Transit Authority is making plans for its 70th birthday.

The authority is marking its October anniversary throughout 2017. Festivities will include tours, promotions, contests and a new Instagram account to showcase rarely seen archived photos. CTA's fleet of vintage trains and buses will also be unveiled.

CTA buses, streetcars and trains began operating in Chicago under the new organization in 1947. At the time, bread cost 13 cents, gas was just a few pennies more and some new cars sold for as little as $1,300.

Several private companies operated Chicago's elevated train, streetcar and bus lines before 1945. That was the year lawmakers created the CTA.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel says the transit authority is not only a celebrated part of the city's past but key to its future success.