How-to: Riding with Children
Reduced fares for children 7-11
Reduced fares are available for children.
- On CTA, children 7-11 are eligible to ride at the CTA Reduced Fare.
- On Pace, children 7-11 are eligible to ride at the Pace Reduced Fare.
- On Metra, children 7-11 save 50% over one-way fares on weekdays. Also, on weekends and select holidays, up to three children age 11 and under ride Metra free with each fare-paying adult.
On CTA and Pace, simply ask the bus driver or station attendant for a reduced fare before touching your card to pay when intending to pay a reduced fare for children—they’ll press a button or touch a special card that allows for a reduced fare to be paid from the next Ventra Card (or contactless bankcard or mobile device wallet) to be used at the reader.
On Metra, you can use the Ventra App to pay child fares—just choose the "Student Fares K-12" option to buy reduced fare tickets which are also good for children who receive the reduced fare based on their age.
Children under 7
On CTA or Pace:
Children under 7, when traveling with a fare-paying adult, ride free on CTA or Pace.
Children under 7, when traveling alone, pay a reduced fare on CTA or Pace.
Note: On Pace, there is a limit of 2 free child riders per fare-paying adult.
On Metra:
Children under 7 ride free when accompanied by a fare-paying adult (up to three children free per adult).
Children under 7 may not ride Metra alone.
How much is a reduced fare?
CTA, Metra and Pace each set fares and policies independently. You can look up each agency’s reduced fare on their websites: