Cubic Awarded Contract to Link Los Angeles.

LADOT becomes the ninth County bus operator to join the Universal Fare System, the smart card-based automatic fare collection system that Cubic is developing for Metro under an $84 million contract awarded in 2002. Including the LADOT contract, Cubic to date has received $17.9 million in contracts from County bus operators who are joining the regional system; the other bus operators are Foothill Transit, Long Beach Transit, Norwalk Transit, Culver City Bus, Santa Clarita Transit, the City of Torrance, Antelope Valley Transit Authority and the City of Montebello.

“As the operator of the second largest transit fleet in the County, LADOT is an important player in the regional system,” said Richard Johnson, president and chief executive officer of Cubic Transportation Systems, Inc. “With their addition, we have achieved a significant milestone in extending the reach of Metro’s services, and L.A. has moved one step closer to achieving a ‘one card, countywide’ system. The unbearable traffic congestion and escalated fuel costs in the state of California are driving the demand for cost-effective, user-friendly seamless public transportation service throughout the state’s most populous County. We commend the regional participants for joining together to address these key economic and environmental issues.”

By next summer, the Universal Fare System will offer a single payment system to the participating agencies in the region, which will allow commuters to pay for subway, light rail, bus, and bus rapid transit services with one smart card.

LADOT operates DASH bus services within several communities throughout the City, DASH Downtown weekend and daily shuttle services in downtown Los Angeles and Commuter Express that utilizes the freeway system for faster travel times between residential areas and major work centers.

Cubic Transportation Systems, Inc. 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, delivered over 400 projects in 40 major markets on 5 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, Houston, Atlanta, South Florida, Vancouver and Edmonton, Canada, Brisbane, Australia, Singapore, Bangkok, Thailand, and Scandinavia.

The corporation’s other major segment, Cubic Defense Applications, provides realistic combat training systems for military forces as well as simulation, force modernization, educational services, operations & maintenance and manufacturing services. The group also supplies products and systems for C4ISR (Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance) applications, search and rescue avionics and radio communications for military and civil markets. For more information about Cubic, see the company's web site at www.cubic.com.