‘Chicago Moves’ Aid Program Offers Free Gas, Transit Cards

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Thursday (March 31) announced Chicago Moves, a financial assistance program to give prepaid cards to residents dealing with transportation woes, a press release said.

This makes Chicago the first and biggest major city in the U.S. to do this.

Chicago Moves works to help fight the rising costs of gas and rising inflation, providing $12.5 million in funding.

The program comes from $7.5 million earmarked for $150 physical prepaid cards, which can be used at local Chicago gas stations, as well as $5 million earmarked for $50 prepaid cards for public transit.

Lightfoot is quoted in the release as saying that things have been difficult for many people over the past few years with the pandemic and its ensuing economic woes. And now there also comes new inflation issues and gas price problems.

“Chicago Moves endeavors to provide much needed relief and ease some of this pain. By subsidizing the cost of gas and transit, this program will enable participants to save their resources for other critical expenses. Chicago is a city that moves. People have to be able to get to work, school, places of worship, medical offices, grocery stores. The goal of this program is to help make those moves easier.”

The release notes that eligible applicants will have to be residents of Chicago, at least 18 years old and have a valid city sticker for the vehicle, as well as having a household income at or below 140% of the median income for Chicago.

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PYMNTS wrote that the current inflation issues have made customer spending much slower in February. In February it went up 0.2%, which was down from a revised 2.7% from January.

Consumer spending makes up over two-thirds of the U.S. economic activity, the report noted.