Lowe Pens Sun-Times OpEd on Free CTA for CPA Students
![Busy street in Chicago with cars and a CTA bus traveling below an elevated train bridge with an L train.](https://cuppa.uic.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2020/03/shutterstock_157065572.0-1090x595.jpg)
Urban Planning and Policy Associate Professor Kate Lowe and Illinois State Rep. Marcus C. Evans Jr. wrote in the June 21 Chicago Sun-Times that removing costs barriers to transit will help Chicago Public School students attend class.
"Helping CPS students get to school and easing the financial burden on families is a win for equity. Not only would free transit passes help students attend school and ease household budgets, unrestricted free passes could also better connect students to a whole range of important opportunities from social services and seeing family to doctor’s appointments and even first jobs.
Investing in our youth through free public transit is not just the equitable thing to do, it’s a collective investment in the workforce, citizenry and future leaders. Plus, riding public transit earlier in life may encourage its use later on, which benefits everyone since more public transit riders means less polluted air and congestion."