By : Subuk Hasnain
Wed, 12/11/2013 - 2:35pm
The Chicago Transit Authority Board on Wednesday approved an $864,000 contract with TextMarks Inc., which will provide text messaging services for the CTA’s Bus Tracker texting system.
TextMarks’ bulk SMS messaging platform is also used by businesses like Microsoft and Little Caesars. Its contract with the CTA begins on Jan. 1 and runs through Dec. 31, 2016.
The CTA Board on Wednesday also approved the continued usage of a rooftop antenna and telecommunications facility located at 1603 Orrington Ave. in Evanston. The facility houses equipment the CTA uses for its bus and rail system operator’s radio communications on the North Side of Chicago.
The equipment was previously license for CTA use through Jan. 31, 2014, and the terms of the agreement are now extended through Jan. 31, 2019. Under the extended agreement, the CTA will pay a $8,839 initial annual license fee and a $795 annual electrical usage fee. Both of those fees will increase by 3.5 percent per year after the first year of the agreement.
This article was originally published on the Daily Whale website in 2013.