Cubic receives $26 million contract for San Diego

Cubic Transportation Systems has received a $26 million contract to provide a regional integrated smart card-based automatic fare collection system for San Diego County's buses, trolley, commuter rail and future expansion of the light rail system. Benefits of the smart card contract, awarded by the San Diego Metropolitan Transit Development Board (MTDB) and the North County Transit District (NCTD), include increasing fare recovery, decreasing the potential for fraud, and promoting accurate and timely distribution of revenue and ridership data. The project's goal is to unify fare payment throughout the county and encompass all of San Diego's existing and new rail systems as well as all fixed-route and express buses. Cubic is providing a turnkey system that includes rail ticketing equipment, transit ticket vending machines, smart card validators for rail and bus lines, handheld units for code compliance enforcement and a backend administrative and revenue management system. In the future, the MTDB and NCTD may explore other uses for the smart cards such as ballpark admissions or to pay parking fees.