Cubic Receives
$10 Million Contract to Provide New Fare Collection Technology
for New York City Buses
NEW YORK, N.Y. – April 7, 2010 - The MetroCard® system
that Cubic designed and delivered to New York City Transit
17 years ago remains one of the top-performing fare collection
systems in the world, processing more than 8 million transactions
a day. By September, the system’s reach will expand further
when Cubic Transportation Systems, Inc., transportation
subsidiary of Cubic Corporation (NYSE: CUB), delivers 200
new advance-pay fare machines for Select Bus Service routes.
Under
a $10 million contract signed last year, Cubic will
provide more than 200 MetroCard Fare Collectors to NYCT
in an effort to speed bus service to handle increased
ridership. Studies show that NYCT buses spend more
than 20 percent
of their time stopped waiting for passengers to board,
transit officials say. With fewer stops, and dedicated
traffic lanes and stoplights that change in the buses’ favor,
Select Bus Service routes are a cost-effective alternative
to building new subways.
Cubic’s MetroCard Fare Collectors
will let people use their MetroCard to pay before the bus
arrives. They are new, weatherized versions of the MetroCard
Express Machines currently used in NYCT’s subway system
to accept credit or debit card payments.
Cubic
installed modified MetroCard Express Machines on the
first Select
Bus Service route in the Bronx in 2008 as part of
a pilot project to test the idea of prepaying bus fares.
“The pilot
was hugely successful, and speeds things up quite a bit,” said
Steve Brunner, Cubic’s Northeast regional director. “Transit
officials and riders were extremely happy with it.”
The
new MetroCard Fare Collectors will be installed
at stops on three Select Bus Service routes. The new
machines have
also been designed to withstand exposure to snow
and rain and include user-friendly menus and screens,
as well as
a wireless network that connects to a central
maintenance facility. Passengers insert their MetroCards
into the devices
and receive a receipt to show to an inspector
on request.
The
contract with New York City Transit includes a 2011
option for an additional 64 machines for a
fourth
Select Bus Service route.
About
MetroCard®
MetroCard® is a registered trademark of the Metropolitan
Transportation Authority ("MTA"). The MTA and New York
City Transit have neither approved nor endorsed this
article or any of its contents.
About Cubic
Cubic
Transportation Systems, Inc. is part of Cubic Corporation.
Cubic Corporation is the parent company
of three major business segments: Defense Systems, Mission Support
Services and Transportation Systems. Cubic Defense
Systems is a leading provider of realistic
combat training systems and defense electronics. Mission Support
Services is a leading provider of training, operations,
maintenance, technical and other
support services.
Transportation
Systems is the world's leading turnkey solution provider
of automated fare collection
systems for public transport including
bus, bus rapid transit, light rail, commuter rail, heavy rail,
ferry and parking. Cubic's solutions and services
include system design, central computer systems,
equipment design and manufacturing, device-level software,
integration, test, installation, warranty, maintenance,
computer
hosting services, call centre services,
card management and distribution services, financial clearing
and settlement, multi-application support and outsourcing
services.
Every
year, nearly 10 billion rides are taken worldwide using
Cubic fare collection systems.
Cubic has delivered over 400 projects in 40 major
markets on five continents. Active projects include
London; New York / New Jersey region; Washington, D.C. /
Baltimore / Virginia region; Los Angeles region; San
Diego
region;
San Francisco Bay Area; Minneapolis/St.
Paul; Chicago; Atlanta; Miami; Vancouver and Edmonton, Canada;
Brisbane, Australia; Scandinavia, Germany and India.