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Innovation Studio

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Innovation Studio is our initiative centered around testing new and state-of-the-art solutions to help solve issues facing all aspects of our agency and our riders. At the start of each year, we will release problem statements through Innovation Studio to solicit solution proposals from external innovators. Successful proposals will be piloted on the transit system and successful pilots may be scaled into long term solutions. Multiple problem statements and pilots will be launched each year with the intent to improve the experience for our riders and increase operational efficiencies for staff.

Benefits

The transit and technology sectors are constantly changing. Innovation Studio allows us to test new technologies at a faster pace than we’ve been able to historically. A more agile and iterative approach allows us to demonstrate the value of a solution before bringing it to scale, as well as test technology or solutions not currently deployed on transit. By soliciting proposals around business problems, we can learn about and test solutions we might not otherwise have considered.

How to get Involved

We will release a new set of problem statements in the first quarter of each year. We encourage innovators of all kinds to submit proposals that are responsive to the identified problem statement, provided the innovator is prepared to follow through on a pilot should the proposal be selected.  For more information on how proposals are evaluated see the evaluation page. To be one of the first to know about upcoming problem statements and events, sign up for our mailing list.

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2024 Problem Statements

Based on prior input from our employees, the Citizens Advisory Board, and the ADA Advisory Committee, and our riders we have selected three problem statements for the 2024 Innovation Studio pilot cycle targeting safety, internal process improvements, and customer experience. For more details about our 2024 problem statements and submission timelines check out the problem statements pages.

  Right-of-way intrusion detection How can we automatically detect people or large objects on the tracks to enable swift intervention?
  Bus stop asset monitoring How can CTA automatically monitor the condition of physical assets at bus stops or their use over time?
  Bus real-time arrival information signage expansion How can CTA expand real-time arrival and alert signage to bus stops?

More information

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