Sons and Daughters Ride Free on Metra on April 28

Submitted by Metra.

Children and young adults 18 and under can ride on Metra trains for free with their fare-paying parent on April 28, 2016 to mark Take Our Daughters And Sons To Work Day.

“Now in its 23rd year, Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day exposes girls and boys to what the adults in their lives do during the workday,” said Metra Executive Director/CEO Don Orseno. “We have been celebrating this worthy event at Metra for several years and decided that offering our customers a free ride for their children will make it easier for them to participate in this event. Plus, it’s a great opportunity to expose future riders to Metra.”

As part of this event, Metra is also asking parents who ride to work with their children on Metra to take and share photos of their trip on Facebook and Twitter using #MetraFamily.

At Metra, Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day teaches employees’ children about the transportation industry and helps them discover possible careers. This year, the agency is celebrating by hosting more than 100 children of Metra and Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) employees for a day that will include a welcome message from Orseno, a presentation by Metra’s Safety Department on train safety and awareness, lunch on a Metra train, a demonstration by Metra Police dogs and the opportunity to operate a train simulator and experience how locomotive engineers learn their job.

Other community initiatives Metra plans to support and promote in 2016 include CPR and AED Awareness Week, Illinois Rail Safety Week, NBC 5 Making a Difference, Operation North Pole and Toys for Tots.

About Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work

Designed to be more than a career day, the Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work program goes beyond shadowing an adult at work. Exposing girls and boys to what their parent or mentor does during the workday is important, but the key to their achieving success is showing them the value of their education, helping them discover the power and possibilities associated with a balanced work and family life, providing them an opportunity to share how they envision the future, and allowing them to begin steps toward their goals in a hands-on and interactive environment.

About Metra

Metra is one of the largest and most complex commuter rail systems in North America, serving Cook, DuPage, Will, Lake, Kane and McHenry counties in Northeastern Illinois. The agency provides service to and from downtown Chicago with 241 stations over 11 routes totaling nearly 500 route miles and approximately 1,200 miles of track. Metra operates more than 700 weekday trains, providing about 300,000 passenger trips each weekday.