Companies Partner to Bid on Chicago GPS Contract

CHICAGO (April 18, 2007) — Chicago Public Schools (CPS), the third largest school district in the U.S., recently began the process of reviewing bids for one of the nation’s largest school bus GPS installations. The district is currently reading over bids from eight different providers, including IBM, Cingular Wireless, Edulog and IC Corp.

“We’re looking for AVL; a system that tracks buses, speed, idling and vehicle diagnostics; sensors for stop arms; and a student tracking (RFID) solution,” said Arnaldo Cruz, operations manager for the transportation department.

Certain companies, like Everyday Wireless and Synovia were absent from the final list, but for good reason. According to Cruz, some companies decided to form partnerships for the potentially sizable project.

“IBM is working with Everyday Wireless, Cingular is working with Synovia, and CalAmp is working with Radio Satelite and Trapeze,” said Cruz.

After the first round of reviews, district officials will invite some of the responders to give oral presentations of their proposals, according to Mike Olds, a regional sales manager for Everyday Wireless, which has partnered with IBM, the informational technology provider for CPS.

“IBM, for us, was the logical choice,” said Olds. “They have a long history with CPS, they have a local presence and they’re famous for integration and managing huge projects.”

The initial phase of the project will be a pilot program that will consist of one to three vendors installing systems on between 8 and 20 of the 2,600 buses that transport 25,000 students everyday for Chicago Public Schools. The 30-day pilot has been tentatively scheduled for July.

The school district is looking to spend approximately $1,500 per vehicle.

Look for more details on this and other major metropolitan GPS bids in the June issue of STN.