On Monday, Cubic Corp. announced it signed a contract with the Public Transport Ticketing Corp. (PTTC) to provide greater Sydney’s electronic ticketing system.

The contract is valued at $370 million for the design, development and implementation and fixed maintenance components. Additional payments, called variable charges, will also be payable, based on the combination of the number of customers using smart cards, and the number and value of financial transactions per smart card. These variable charges support the usage of the system and could bring the entire contract value from $500 million to more than $600 million through 2024.

Cubic’s phased and incremental approach for deployment of the smart card will begin with ferries, rail and then buses. Upon completion of the design, build and install phases, Cubic will operate the system for 10 years.

Commuters will be able to load money onto their smart card via the Internet; customer contact centers; automatic deductions from a linked bank account or credit card by phone; retail outlets throughout greater Sydney using the epay Australia network; and auto-load machines primarily at train, ferry and other public transportation locations.

Cubic-provided managed services will include: customer Website development and operation; Interactive Voice Response (IVR) as part of a 24/7 Customer Contact Center; A 24/7 contact center for handling service calls; a distribution center for ordering and mailing cards and processing replacements; reconciliation and reporting of transactions; revenue management for the multiple public transport operators and agencies supporting the system; retail outlet management services and repairs, maintenance and spares inventory.