CTA to offer PPE vending machines at some L stations

CHICAGO - The Chicago Transit Authority will place new vending machines later this year stocked with personal protective equipment at six rail stations.

The vending machines, approved Wednesday by the CTA’s board, will contain PPE including hand sanitizer, disposable face masks, sanitizing wipes and disposable gloves, the CTA announced Wednesday. They will cost between $3.75 and $10.

The machines will be placed at the Belmont, Roosevelt and 79th stations on the Red Line, the Midway station on the Orange Line, the Jefferson Park station on the Blue Line and the Kedzie station on the Green Line.

“We understand the need for our customers to have a safe experience during their commutes,” CTA President Dorval Carter, Jr. said in the statement. “The addition of these new vending machines is a reflection of our unwavering commitment to seek out tools and resources to help reassure our customers that we are doing everything we can to keep customers healthy during this ongoing pandemic.”

The vending machines will be installed and operated by the vendor Canteen, which already has similar machines in Metropolitan Transportation Authority stations in New York.