CTA to test digital screens inside buses
The Chicago Transit Authority is adding digital information screens inside some of its buses.
The new screens will be installed in the front and middle of a small number of CTA buses later this year for public testing, CTA President Dorval Carter announced Wednesday while speaking at the City Club of Chicago. The screens will include estimated arrival times for upcoming stops and transfer information, along with ads and public service announcements, such as reminders to riders to keep their bags off the seats.
The screens also will be able to offer a feed from the buses’ interior security cameras, which the CTA hopes will improve safety on buses. The union representing the agency’s bus drivers has complained about a rise in assaults on drivers by passengers.
The test screens are being installed at no cost to the CTA by four different vendors, CTA spokesman Brian Steele said. The CTA does not have a budget for the screens at this point, and it does not know how many buses will get the screens during the pilot period. Steele said the pilot program will allow the agency to get customer feedback on how well the screens work.
Carter said more innovations will be coming to the CTA in the future, such as the ability to pay fares by cellphone, but he could not say when riders could see this innovation.