11/1/05
As part of CTA's ongoing effort to find new sources of revenue, the Chicago Transit Board approved two new initiatives that will generate additional revenue for CTA over the next five years. An agreement with Bank of America for ATMs at select rail stations and outside management for two Park & Ride facilities will generate a combined minimum of $9.7 million over a five-year period.
Under an agreement with Bank of America, Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) will be installed at nine CTA rail stations. Bank of America will furnish, install, replenish, operate and maintain the ATMs. The contract was approved following a competitive bidding process. The three-year ATM contract will generate a minimum of $230,017 annually in additional revenue for the CTA and provides for two one-year extensions. In addition, Bank of America will pay the CTA a percentage of the ATM user fees collected at the stations.
The nine new ATMs will be located at four Red Line stations: 95th, Wilson, Grand/State and Madison/Washington. Three will be located along the Loop Elevated at Clark/Lake (203 North LaSalle), Clark/Lake (100 West Lake) and State/Lake. ATMs also will be installed at the O'Hare Blue Line station and the Midway station on the Orange Line.
The Board also approved contracts for companies to manage two of its Park & Ride lots. MCP Partners, LLC will manage the parking facility at CTA's Forest Park station on the Forest Park branch of the Blue Line. Standard Parking Corporation will manage the new parking facility at the Harlem station on the O'Hare branch of the Blue Line. The new parking lot opened at midnight, Tuesday, November 1. Both management firms are based in Chicago and the contracts were competitively bid. The parking management agreements which will be in place for five years, guarantee CTA a combined minimum of $1.8 million annually.
With the addition of the new Harlem Park & Ride facility, CTA has a total of 18 Park & Ride lots with a total of 6,289 spaces.
?In this challenging economy, we are always interested in developing new revenue streams," said Chicago Transit Board Chairman Carole Brown. ?The revenue generated by the new ATMs and the parking management firms will give us a financial boost as we work to control costs."
?These initiatives build on ongoing efforts to develop new sources of revenue and improve efficiency," said CTA President Frank Kruesi. ?Moreover, these agreements are beneficial to our customers. The ATMs provide a convenient service for customers and generate revenue for CTA. Outsourcing the management of these Park & Ride lots also helps generate revenue and improve efficiency by allowing CTA resources to be reallocated throughout the system."
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