WEST LOOP — Fans of public transportation bought $82,000 worth of CTA-themed items from the agency's online gift shop in 2013, an agency spokeswoman said.
Among the most popular items on CTAGifts.com were wooden buses and trains, shower curtains, umbrellas and a system map poster, familiar with anyone who rides the "L,' said Lambrini Lukidis, an agency spokeswoman.
About two-thirds of those items have been sold in-state, though the CTA has fans in New York and California too. Those states have the second and third highest number of orders.
Between 1999 to 2008, the CTA sold official souvenirs through the Internet, a catalog and from its customer service center.
In 2008, the agency contracted with Image Exchange Inc., which has run similar gift operations for New York City's Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, to run CTAGifts.com.
