SAN DIEGO & BRISBANE, Australia, July 18, 2003–The transportation subsidiary of San Diego, California-based Cubic Corporation (AMEX:CUB) and its Australian subsidiary, Cubic Transportation Systems-Australia Pty Ltd., have signed a US$95 Million (Aus $134 Million) contract with the Queensland Government to design, build, operate and maintain the first smart card-based integrated ticketing system and regional services for public transport in South East Queensland, Australia.

Cubic will replace the existing paper and magnetic tickets with its “open system” smart card ticketing technology. The new system will link most urban rail, bus, and ferry services in the South East Queensland region and allow public transport commuters to use one smart card to pay for all their fares.

Work on the contract will begin immediately, with a trial scheduled for late 2004. After commissioning of the system, Queensland Transport will turn over all ticketing system operations and maintenance, regional clearing and settlement, card management and customer services to Cubic for a minimum of ten years. Secondary revenues accrued from any third party applications and commercial opportunities will be shared between Cubic and Queensland Transport, thus helping to defray the capital cost for the new system.

“Premier Peter Beattie and the Queensland Government have the vision and commitment to create a world-class public transportation system and a state-of-the-art regional smart card ticketing system,” said Richard Johnson, president and chief executive officer, Cubic Transportation Systems, Inc. “We are very proud of the teamwork between Cubic and Queensland Transport’s staff that has brought this project to fruition. When completed, Queensland will be the technology showcase for all of Australia, if not the entire Asia-Pacific region.”

Cubic will deliver advanced software, computers, communications, a clearinghouse for revenue settlement and all system equipment, as well as cardholder services and a publicly accessible Internet Web site. Using the online “Autoload” software feature, public transport users can use the customer service Web site to order and register cards, make account queries and add value to their cards. Added value can then be collected automatically the next time they use their cards in the system.

Transport users also will be able to load value on their cards at rail stations, on buses and via a card distribution network of terminals strategically located at retail outlets.

The new smart card system is the second stage in the Queensland Government’s development of a new zone-based public transport system, which will begin with the formation of TransLink, the centralized transport organization managing the region’s major transport operators, including Queensland Rail and the AirTrain rail link to the Brisbane International Airport, 14 private bus companies, Brisbane Transport buses and local ferry services.

The capability to link transport operators in South East Queensland and extended throughout all of Queensland and beyond is made possible by Cubic’s open architecture based on its patented Tri-Reader® technology and Nextfare™ Central System. The Tri-Reader, an integral module in all bus, ferry and rail fare collection equipment, can read any type of contactless smart card meeting international standards, providing Queensland Transport and other regional participants a truly open system with flexibility, interoperability and a range of media choices.

The backbone to this regional gateway is the Nextfare Central System, a configurable suite of software modules designed using industry standards, open platforms and commercial off-the-shelf applications. Nextfare supplies the core smart card transaction processing; financial operations including revenue clearing, settlement and reporting; a debit/credit account gateway for payments; customer service database support, and an inherent scalability to provide additional services when needed.

Cubic has been a leading supplier of ticketing technology and services in Australia since 1980 when it won the contract for the first automated fare collection system in New South Wales–the Eastern Suburbs Line in Sydney. In 1991 Cubic was awarded a contract to equip the entire New South Wales state rail system with an automatic fare collection system, which has set high availability standards. Cubic will relocate key personnel from Sydney as well as hire locally to add highly coveted technology sector jobs in the region. As the prime contractor, Cubic will work closely with many select local suppliers.

To facilitate interoperability among regional transport operators throughout Australia, Cubic is an active contributor to the National Ticketing and Tolling Working Group, whose members are working with Standards Australia to develop a specification for a nationally accepted public transport smart card. Cubic’s technology also will enable non-transport applications to reside on the same smart card, such as retail, parking, and other third-party products and services.

Cubic Transportation Systems is the world’s leading system provider for regional multi-operator intermodal ticketing systems. Every year, nearly 10 billion rides are taken worldwide using Cubic fare collection systems in more than 40 major markets on five continents, including London; New York; Washington, D.C.; Baltimore; Sydney; counties in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark; Rotterdam; Chicago; Atlanta; San Francisco; Los Angeles; Miami; Hong Kong; Guangzhou; Shanghai; and Singapore.

The corporation’s other major segment, Cubic Defense Applications, provides instrumented air and ground combat training systems, battle command training, simulations and simulation support for U.S. and allied military forces. The group also produces high technology avionics, data links and communications products for government and commercial customers, and a wide range of technical and logistics services. For more information about Cubic, see the company’s web site at http://www.cubic.com.

Contact

Cubic Corporation
Jae Lande, 858/505-2642
jae.lande@cubic.com

or

Bowden MacGregor Consulting
John MacGregor, 011 61 2 9241 2811
jmacgregor@bowmac.com.au