SANTA BARBARA, CA (January 23, 2009)

Santa Barbara-based CHK America, specialists in the visual communication of transportation data and wayfinding, has been awarded by Greater Richmond Transit Company through competitive bid to develop a passenger information system for the 2270 bus stops within the GRTC service area.

Serving approximately 40,000 riders daily on 26 local routes and 13 express routes, the Greater Richmond Transit Service has identified a three-tier passenger information service plan to most effectively communicate its transit services to passengers. Panels at each tier stop will have a consistent approach to the design and layout of passenger information.

For the 96 stops in Tier One, those that service the highest volume of daily passengers, the most comprehensive package of information is provided to assist passengers including a Spider Diagram™, a diagrammatic depiction of all routes servicing that stop; a Neighborhood Map, geared towards alighting passengers, showing points of interest and street networks within a half-mile radius; Departure Timetables, providing complete timetable information by line for each stop; and a System Map, providing an overall representation of GRTC’s system with “you are here” identifiers.

For the 722 Tier Two stops, those that have a medium amount of boardings per day, Stop Specific Corridor Panels will be situated at each stop depicting routes, destinations, estimated travel times, complete departure timetables for each stop, and “you are here” identifiers.

For the remaining 1452 stops in Tier Three, the stops with the lowest volume of daily boardings, the bus stops will feature a redesigned flag showing the destinations, and routes servicing that stop.

Established in September 1999, CHK America provides passenger information and wayfinding solutions to the public transportation industry. 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.

Additionally, CHK America was awarded a contract by the GRTC to design pocket timetables for 40 routes on all GRTC buses. Available in August 2009, as part of the agency’s efforts to improve the environment, the schedules are printed on recycled paper with soy based ink.