I was happy to learn that Ron Huberman went carfree shortly after becoming the new president of the CTA. It's encouraging to know that he's experiencing first-hand both the freedom and frustrations of giving up automobile dependency. I think adopting the lifestyle he's promoting will give him a healthy perspective. Previous leadership seemed to view transit more as a social service rather than as essential to urban living as roads.

This came up in an interactive online video chat that RedEye's Kyra Kyles hosted with Ron Huberman. To see the full chat, visit http://redeye.chicagotribune.com/red-101707-tchat-flash,0,157189.flash . Here's the quote from the chat:

3 Jeff asks: Do you or your people actually use the CTA, even on a semi-regular basis?

Huberman's Answer: The answer is absolutely. I personally use it as the primary form of how I get around. I no longer have a car. So when I got this job five months ago, I said, it's time to trade in the car. So I traded my car for a bus. And so every morning I'm on the Red Line to work. When I need to get around I'm always using the transit system.