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Yesterday, the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) issued a request for proposals on the design, implementation and operation of an open fare-collection system.

The system could introduce the use of contactless credit cards, debit cards and prepaid cards to ride the system, CTA officials said in a prepared statement.

“Reducing our expenses by continuing to leverage emerging technologies allows us to maximize our limited financial resources,” said CTA President Richard Rodriguez in a prepared statement. “The CTA will be able to update our fare equipment without an upfront capital cost. Our riders would have a more convenient, streamlined fare payment and reload option and our farecard partner would be able to expand their presence in the Chicago market by working with other retailers interested in offering promotions.”

The current fare equipment was installed in 1997. CTA would own all of the fare equipment installed by the selected vendor and also would maintain control over fares, CTA officials said.