CHK America Provides Passenger Information Services To The 2nd, 3rd And 4th Largest Transit Agencies In The USA*
SANTA BARBARA, CA (8 August 2005)
CHK America, specialists in the visual communication of passenger information is pleased to announce two new clients following recent contract awards from the Chicago Regional Transportation Authority and Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. Also currently providing their services to Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LAMTA) under a 2003 contract, CHK America will now provide their expertise to the nation’s 2nd, 3rd and 4th largest transit agencies.* That announcement was made today by Rick Wood, President and CEO, CHK America.
CHK America’s contract with Chicago Regional Transportation Authority (RTA), the financial oversight and regional planning body for the three public transit operators in northeastern Illinois, calls for the company to design inter-agency passenger information to assist passengers in using the bus and rail services of the country’s second largest transit agency, Chicago Transit Authority (CTA)*, Metra’s commuter rail service and Pace’s suburban bus services. The goal of the RTA, who awarded the contract in February 2005 and for which design work will commence in August, is to assist passengers in transitioning from one agency’s services to another.
CHK America’s four-year contract signed in May 2005 with Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), the fourth largest transit agency in the US*, calls for the development and design of stop specific map and service information for over 800 bus stops for Metrobus in WMATA’s 1500 square mile service area which consists of the District of Columbia, the Maryland counties of Montgomery and Prince George’s and the Northern Virginia counties of Arlington, Fairfax and Loudoun and the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax and Falls Church. Additionally, CHK is to design 125 station mezzanine maps and service information guides for Metrorail.
CHK America’s most recent project for the country’s third largest transit agency, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority* which commenced in May 2005 and is scheduled for delivery in October, calls for the development of 13 neighborhood maps to be located in the county’s new Metro Orange Line stations. Currently under construction and scheduled for completion in October 2005, the Metro Orange Line will connect Warner Center with the North Hollywood Metro Rail station and will provide convenient connections to Metro Rail and local bus lines.
Earlier this month, CHK America was awarded a four-year contract with Austin Capital Metro to assist with the development of an overall passenger information strategy that will address information requirements at bus stops and transit hubs and to develop planning tools such as system maps and website information. Also this month, CHK was awarded a second contract from Nashville MTA to continue to develop and maintain new and existing passenger information such as system maps, public timetables and at-stop information. The contract will run for three years. Finally, CHK was awarded a three-year contract this month with Spokane Transit Authority to develop a new system map and additional passenger information products over the term of the agreement.
In May, CHK was selected by the City of Pasadena, California, to design and produce a comprehensive public transportation map to include information about all of the public transit options available in the area. The eighth contract this year was awarded to CHK in March this year by Volusia County Public Transit in Florida (VOTRAN). Under the three-year contract, CHK America will develop a new system map, guides and schedules for the agency.
“CHK America is honored to have been selected to work on each of these extremely important projects, the scope of which indicate an enormous commitment to improving the ease of use of transit systems,” commented Rick Wood, President and CEO, CHK America. “That some of the nations most respected agencies have undertaken these efforts indicates an important, positive trend in the industry towards advancing communication of services as a tool to increase ridership.”
Earlier this year, CHK client Santa Barbara MTD won “First Place” in the annual “Ad Wheel Awards” held by APTA for their new passenger information product, the “Art of Travel Pocket Map and Guide,” designed by CHK America.
Established in September 1999, CHK America provides passenger information solutions to the public transportation industry. In addition to the above clients, CHK’s client roster also includes Santa Barbara MTD, San Antonio VIA, Foothill Transit, Volusia County Transit, Florida, Waukesha Metro Transit, Milwaukee, Monterey-Salinas Transit and Glendale Transit. CHK America, a division of United Kingdom based Cook, Hammond and Kell, was established to expand the reach of its parent company’s products across the US. CHK’s products and services have been distributed extensively across Europe for over 140 years. Other companies in the group include Cook, Hammond and Kell, FWT Studios, Oxford Cartographers, National Map Center London, National Map Center Dublin.
Source: APTA, largest transit agencies ranked by unlinked passenger trips, fiscal year 2003.