2nd LARGEST US BUS TRANSIT AGENCY ADOPTS CARMANAH SOLAR ILLUMINATED BUS STOP
Penetration of North American Transit Market Continues on Schedule
Vancouver, British Columbia CANADA, July 03, 2003 /FSC/ - Carmanah Technologies
Inc. (CMH - TSX Venture), is pleased to announce that Pace, IL - the suburban
bus division of Chicago's Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) - has
purchased $25,000 in Carmanah i-STOP(tm) units for field trial through an open
competitive bidding process. The agency, which serves 5.2 million people in
greater Chicago, is completing a $14.7 million Intelligent Bus System to improve
efficiency, reduce waiting times and increase ridership.
"We are now seeing the spin-off from our successful first wave of i-STOP(tm)
installations in cities like Atlanta and Seattle," said Carmanah's CEO Art
Aylesworth. "The latest sales to large, medium and small U.S. transit agencies
show the new i-STOP(tm) is already making inroads into every level of the
multibillion-dollar U.S. transit market."
Again and again, transit authorities are finding the i-STOP(tm) to be one of the
most cost-effective ways to increase efficiency, public safety and ridership.
The i-STOP(tm) installs on common bus-stop poles and consists of an illuminated
bus schedule, a security light and a flashing LED (light-emitting diode) beacon
that notifies bus drivers up to one mile (1.6 kilometers) in advance if there is
someone waiting at the stop. The i-STOP(tm) is a particularly effective
solution to transit's persistent problem of rider "pass-bys" in areas of poor
lighting, busy traffic or high driving speeds.
The latest sales include:
- $25,000 order from the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority, FL
- $50,000 order from the rural Morongo Basin Transit Authority (MBTA), CA
- $27,000 i-STOP(tm) order from the city of Flagstaff, AZ
- $10,000 order from the York Region Transit, ON
- As well as a high profile field trial of i-STOP(tm) technology on the Presidio
Park side of San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge.
"We are extremely excited that Pace in Chicago has chosen to field trial our
technology," said Aylesworth. "Pace is part of the second largest public
transportation system in North America, with an annual budget of about $1.5
billion and over 12,000 potential i-STOP(tm) bus-stop locations. From the
Mojave Desert to the city of Chicago, our new sales are proving that the
i-STOP(tm) has something for every one of the 2,200 transit agencies in the
U.S." |
