Read the full summary and findings of our pilot project with Mastercard, CTA, ideas42, and Syniverse.

As major cities around the world attract an increasing number of people for work or leisure, public transport systems are often challenged to serve more passengers with the same capacity.

For downtown workers trying to get to their Northside homes at peak rush hour times, usually between 5 and 6 p.m., taking the Red Line can be annoyingly crowded. But when you add a weeknight Cubs game at 7 p.m., and all the added fan traffic that comes with it, trying to take the Red Line north at rush hour can just be nightmare.

How much would it take to convince you to take a later or earlier train home to avoid rush-hour trains on the CTA Red Line jammed with Cubs fans headed to a night game at Wrigley Field?Would a $2.25 rebate be enough? How 'bout $5?A fall pilot program tested the incentive idea and found that it managed to divert nearly 18 percent of Red Line traffic before night games at Wrigley.

The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) announced news it is testing out a new notification program. Red Line customers commuting from downtown stations can sign up to receive text alerts about Chicago Cubs night games and the potential for more crowded trains during the evening rush.