Take Metra or use Ventra next week, maybe get free coffee
Depending where you're commuting next Thursday, June 15, a hot cup of coffee could be waiting.
Transit agencies are marking Dump the Pump Day, an event intended to encourage drivers to swap their cars for buses or trains.
As a result, morning commuters with Metra tickets or who use the Ventra fare system can score free coffee at the following locations: the Northwest Transportation Center in Schaumburg, the CTA Roosevelt Station, and near Union Station and the Ogilvie Transportation Center in Chicago.
The Regional Transportation Authority estimates that if a household downsizes to one car, it can save more than $11,000 a year.
Meanwhile, taking buses and trains instead of driving eliminates the use of 4.2 billion gallons of gas annually in the U.S.
The RTA also calculated that if Metra service stopped, the region would need to build 27 more lanes to its highways.
The coffee is donated by Cubic, the company that developed the Ventra fare system that serves Pace, Metra and CTA riders.