How can CTA provide rail station attendants with tools to welcome and assist riders with limited English proficiency?
Riders who primarily speak a language other than English experience a variety of challenges using CTA services. These include, difficulty determining which train platform to board at a rail station, difficulty navigating from the station to their final destination, challenges with using fare machines, and receiving timely notices when there are disruptions to service.
Over 13% of the population living within CTA’s service area has limited English proficiency. The top languages spoken in the service area are Spanish, Polish, Chinese, Arabic, Cantonese, and Tagalog. In addition, CTA serves customers visiting from a variety of domestic and international locations who may be unfamiliar with the transit system and need assistance with navigation.
CTA rail stations are staffed by Customer Service Representatives/Assistants (CSR/As) who are responsible for assisting riders with navigation and fare payment. However, attendants do not currently have tools at their disposal to support riders with low English proficiency.
CTA is therefore seeking to pilot new tools or technologies that can enable CSR/As to assist riders by providing virtual interpretation and/or translation, with the goal of allowing CSR/As to better communicate with riders who speak other languages. Any proposals must be integrated into a stationary interactive display in stations, as CSR/As are restricted from using mobile devices or tablets. Translation and interpretation assistance are the main features requested, but innovators may propose other features that can help customers to make better travel decisions (such as providing access to maps and directions). Support for accessibility features such as Videophones/Video Relay Services/Live Captions and easy access for people using wheelchairs are also important factors to CTA.
Potential solutions or services include but are not limited to:
- Technology that translates written words into other languages
- Technology that uses real-time voice processing and produces captions or generates voice response
- Tools that provide a glossary of common key phrases relevant to transit
Selected innovators should expect their proposal to be piloted at 1-3 CTA rail stations.
Proposal process
The deadline for these problem statements is October 21, 2025, 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. 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.
Key dates
- September 25, 2025: Challenge Information Session
- October 6, 2025: Questions Due (CTA will provide responses by October 14th, 2025)
- October 21, 2025: Applications Due
- Week of December 1, 2025: Phase 2 Presentations from selected applicants
Information session
The CTA held an information session on September 25, 2025, to discuss the Innovation Studio program, the rail simulator and translation challenges, and the application process.
Q&A (Translation in Rail Stations)
For the customer experience challenge- can you explain more about what type of device the "stationary device" would be and if CTA has one already? Is it android/iPhone based? Are you looking for an API or a downloadable app, etc.?
CTA does not currently have interactive devices available in stations, and proposals should incorporate some type of stationary device. CTA does encourage vendors who provide devices such as interactive kiosks to partner with real-time translation/interpretation providers and vice versa.
Are riders able to make use of tools off their personal devices in addition to/in place of the kiosk?
CTA is looking for a solution that would be available in the station to help all riders as some folks may not have cellular service (e.g. tourists) or may not be comfortable using a smartphone, and Wi-fi is only available at a small number of stations.
Vendors are welcome to provide details on app solutions that can supplement in station devices.
Q&A (General)
Does CTA have any software limitations / requirements that vendors need to be aware of?
Vendors will need to complete a cybersecurity questionnaire and adhere to CTA’s standard Data Security policies, as well as Illinois’s Biometric Information Privacy Act.
Is there a process where companies can submit for the challenges from last year like Safety improvements?
Unfortunately, there is not a way to submit for past challenges. Following pilot completion, if CTA chooses to put out a formal Request for Proposals (RFP), vendors are welcome to submit a proposal even if they did not participate in Innovation Studio.
Can a firm submit multiple applications?
Yes, firms are welcome to submit multiple applications. In the past, applicants have submitted proposals with different partners, or for different product offerings in their catalogs.
Is there access to internet/cell connectivity?
Through experience during past pilots, CTA has found it is typically more straightforward for vendors to provide their own cellular connectivity to avoid needing to adhere to strict cybersecurity requirements needed to send data using CTA’s network.
For the section on the application “Please provide an estimated cost of the pilot,” does this mean what our solution would ultimately annually cost the CTA after the pilot, or the physical cost for a company to operate the pilot itself?
This section is meant for companies to outline the expected cost of the pilot, not what the solution would cost annually. Companies are welcome to detail what the cost for a systemwide solution would entail in their application, but this will not factor into the evaluation criteria for Phase 1. During Phase 2 presentations, innovators should include information about the cost of scaling the project as budget/timeline is one of the scoring categories.
Will CTA define a DBE participation goal for the pilot phase, or will this be addressed during full deployment?
There is not a DBE participation goal for Innovation Studio. DBE participation goals would be determined as part of a full project deployment.
If a pilot is successful, what is CTA’s anticipated process and timeline for scaling to a system-wide deployment?
A timeline for scaling to a full system-wide deployment is dependent on available budget, resources, and pilot learnings and will occur through a procurement process separate from the Innovation Studio program.