How can CTA improve customer experience at rail stations by modernizing fare gates and fare entry technology to address aging infrastructure and further deter fare evasion in rail stations.
The fare gates are the front door to our rail stations, and they need to present a safe, secure, modern, and welcoming environment for our customers. While CTA’s turnstiles have performed well in challenging rail station environments, they are approaching the end of their 40-year design life. CTA is seeking to test new faregate and other fare entry technologies to modernize the system and identify different gate types or other technologies that can help to deter fare evasion while also promoting a welcoming environment on transit.
To meet these objectives, CTA is seeking proposals to pilot new fare gates or other fare entry technology that will allow riders to easily tap, pay, and enter the paid area of our rail system. They must be ADA compliant, user friendly, provide seamless ingress/egress for riders, and resilient to challenging weather conditions in both indoor and outdoor locations.
This pilot aims to:
- Test the flexibility of installing and integrating new fare gates into existing station configurations
- Monitor user interactions and fare evasion activities, including passenger throughput, and gather feedback from our customers
- Develop an understanding of the reliability and maintainability of the equipment
- Enable new functionality that may deter fare evasion without creating access challenges or slow entry
- Monitor data accuracy for fare payments, fare evasion, ridership, and revenue information.
The selected vendors will provide equipment and installation services, as well as a work order system for tracking maintenance calls and technical support. The system must also support data and reporting features to track entries and exits through the gates, regardless of payment. The selected vendor’s solution will need to integrate with CTA’s existing fare system and Ventra readers. CTA will provide API documentation for the forthcoming Ventra system upgrade
Vendors should be prepared to deploy their system at the main entrance of at least one of the following stations:
- Fullerton (Red/Purple/Brown)
- Logan Square (Blue O’Hare Branch)
- Morgan (Green/Pink)
- UIC-Halsted (Blue Forest Park Branch)
- Western/Milwaukee (Blue O’Hare Branch)
- Howard (Red/Purple/Yellow)
- 79th St (Red Line)
- Harlem (Green Line)
- California (Pink)
- Cermak-McCormick Place (Green Line)
- Illinois Medical District (Blue Forest Park Branch)
Vendors will be responsible for the removal of the equipment at the end of the pilot program.
Proposal process
The deadline to apply for this problem statement is August 24, 2026. Innovation proposals will be evaluated in two phases. During Phase 1, proposals will be evaluated by an internal review committee for responsiveness, feasibility, and timeline. For a full description of the evaluation criteria, visit our evaluation page. Innovators whose proposals pass the Phase 1 evaluation will be selected to move to Phase 2. During Phase 2 evaluation, Innovators will be given the opportunity to present their innovation proposal, which will be evaluated by a panel of stakeholders and subject matter experts from CTA. From these presentations, CTA will select one or more winning innovation proposals to proceed to pilot. Application forms and additional information can be found on the Innovation Studio website at www.transitchicago.com/innovation-studio (Opens in a new window).
Applying
To submit a proposal for Innovation Studio, please fill out the application here. If you have more than one proposal, please fill out a separate application for each.
Submissions are due by August 24th 2026 at 11:59 p.m. CT. Innovators can expect a response by early September on next steps. Selected innovators will be asked to prepare a presentation for a panel of CTA employees. Questions can be sent to [email protected]. Questions must be submitted no later than 11:59 p.m. CT on August 10th to receive a response. Questions and their answers will be posted on this page.
If a proposal requires funding from CTA to pilot the solution, please provide that information as part of the proposal. The overall cost to pilot a proposal (if any) may be considered with CTA’s evaluation of feasibility.
Representations, Warranties, and Disclaimers
By submitting a proposal for Innovation Studio, the applicant represents and warrants that: (1) applicant is a company lawfully registered to do business in the State of Illinois and not debarred or otherwise ineligible to contract with the CTA or other government agencies; (2) the information provided in the application is true and accurate to the best of the applicant’s knowledge; and (3) the submissions, to the best of applicant’s knowledge, does not infringe on any third party’s intellectual property rights (with the exception of any third party intellectual property rights identified in the application). Submission of a proposal will in no way, express or implied, obligate the Authority to purchase, rent or otherwise acquire any proposed services or items, and submission of a proposal will not give the applicant any special consideration on any future solicitations or contracts.
Key dates
- July 30, 2026 from 1-2p.m. CT: New Challenge Information Session
- August 10, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. CT: Questions Due (CTA will provide responses by August 17th)
- August 24, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. CT: Applications Due
- Late September 2026: Phase 2 Presentations from selected applicants