CTA adding vending machines for phone chargers, snacks, photo booth

Three new kinds of vending machines will be installed at CTA stations in the next few months, providing riders with a photo booth, phone-charging battery packs and healthy snacks, the Chicago Transit Authority announced Wednesday.

For riders with a dead phone battery, the transit service is rolling out 35 vending machines - called MobileQubes - that will dispense battery charging packs. The packs can either be rented or purchased, and cost $4.99 on the first day and 99 cents for every additional day of use. CTA said riders will see these machines at 26 CTA stations, mostly on the Red Line.

Four vending machines stocked with Farmer's Fridge salads, soups, sandwiches, snacks and drinks will be installed at the Grand stop on the Red Line, the Indiana stop on the Green Line, the Damen stop on the Pink Line and the Fullerton stop on the Red, Brown and Purple Lines.

The CTA will also install a photo booth at the Chicago Avenue stop on the Red Line that will offer portraits for $5 and passport and ID photos for $14.99.

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