Chicago CTA Disruption Demand Shift

To address disruption during peak congestion times in Chicago, an opt-in text message program was developed to offer Red Line riders information on high-volume periods as well as incentives to avoid them. The pilot was tested during times at which Chicago Cubs games coincided with evening rush periods. Over 2,000 participants opted-in to the program resulting in a 17.5% reduction in transit ridership within the pilot group. This showed the potential for cost-effective demand management tools that can impact congestion, transit management, and user behavior which is scalable to related challenges in any city.