Daley, Quinn disagree on free transit rides issue

October 31, 2009 (CHICAGO) (WLS) -- Chicago's Mayor Daley and Illinois Governor Quinn disagree on whether senior citizens should ride free on mass transit.

A tentative deal limiting the free rides to low-income seniors fell through in the state legislature Friday.

The mayor said Saturday that transit agencies cannot afford to provide the free rides.

"It costs the CTA about $40 million. How do they pay for it? I don't know. And that's what they try to explain to people. Everybody wants a free ride. Everyone wants a free lunch. But how do you pay for it?" Daley said.

"I think it's an important program to help a lot of people living on fixed income--who live from pension check to pension check--to have a way to get to where they've got to go, and in an affordable manner," said the governor.

Governor Quinn said he will meet with transit officials and legislators in the coming week to seek a funding solution.

He spoke at a Halloween event to promote the United Nations agency UNICEF, and Mayor Daley spoke Saturday at an event for which he helped plant a tree, something he said was vital to the community.

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