Cubic’s Transit Smart Card Systems, Services Earn Frost & Sullivan 2006 Industry Innovation & Advancement of the Year Award
SAN DIEGO, CALIF., OCTOBER 3, 2006–Cubic Transportation Systems, Inc., a subsidiary of San Diego-based Cubic Corporation (AMEX:CUB), has been named as the 2006 winner of the Frost & Sullivan Industry Innovation & Advancement of the Year Award for the company’s advances in smart card technology used in public transit fare collection systems. The award from Frost & Sullivan, a global growth consulting company, is given each year to a company whose proven industry leadership has succeeded in moving the state of the industry forward.
Cubic, a world leader in full-service automated fare collection and revenue management systems, is behind the majority of regional transit smart card fare collection systems in the United States today. At the core of these successful regional systems is the ability to link multiple transit operators within a geographic region via a single fare payment medium and a back-end computing system as well as the ability to add new features and applications. For public transportation riders this means they can use a single smart card, to seamlessly transfer between rail, bus and other transit modes, affording them greater convenience, higher security and ease of use. Other applications that can be added to these systems include payment, loyalty, parking, and access control.
Cubic has fielded or is currently implementing smart card projects in London; New York/New Jersey; Chicago; Washington, D.C./Maryland/Virginia; Atlanta; Los Angeles; San Francisco; San Diego; Minneapolis/St. Paul and South East Queensland, Australia.
Frost & Sullivan cited a number of market differentiators that led to Cubic’s selection including the company’s Nextfare™ 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; all financial operations; a debit/credit account gateway for payments; customer service database support, and an inherent scalability to provide additional services or applications when needed such as automated customer support, automated fare product distribution, electronic benefits administration and links to vehicle tracking and vehicle management.
“We’re proud and honored to have been chosen for this award, and at the same time we must acknowledge our customers for having the vision to be able to see the value and benefits in the technology migration to smart cards,” said Richard A. Efland, president and chief executive officer of Cubic Transportation Systems, Inc. “That vision gave us the mandate to push the envelope and deliver the next generation of systems and services.” Another technology developed and introduced by Cubic to facilitate regional smart card systems is the patented Tri-Reader®, which can securely process any ISO 14443-compliant contactless smart card, allowing operators the freedom to choose from any number of smart card products while preserving systems performance and integrity. Cubic also is the first to fully integrate low-cost, limited-use smart cards–geared towards occasional riders such as tourists–into its fare collection and parking systems starting with Atlanta, which is the first U.S. city to launch a fare collection system based entirely on smart media.
Frost & Sullivan also recognized Cubic for its contributions towards the development of proximity smart card standards for transit applications, which are being published by the American Public Transportation Association, as well as Cubic’s integration of an explosive detection capability into the transit ticketing system infrastructure.
About Cubic Transportation Systems
Cubic Transportation Systems, Inc. is the world’s leading full-service systems 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, back office computer systems, support equipment, equipment design and manufacturing, device-level software, integration, test, installation, warranty, maintenance, computer hosting services, call center 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, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Chicago, Atlanta, Vancouver and Edmonton, Canada, Brisbane, Australia, Singapore, Bangkok, Thailand, China and Scandinavia. Visit Cubic on the Web at http://www.Cubic.com.