Cubic Adds ID-Building Security Function to SmarTrip For Washington Metro's ``Treasury'' Employees.

Business Editors

SAN DIEGO & WASHINGTON D.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 7, 2001

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) is the first U.S. transit agency to add a security application for employee identification and building access onto its transit smart card, following a successful demonstration by WMATA and technology developer, Cubic Transportation Systems Inc., subsidiary of San Diego-based Cubic Corp. (AMEX:CUB).

WMATA employees who work in the agency's treasury facility will now use their contactless SmarTrip(R) card as an identification badge for secure access in and out of the facility. This new security function is one of several potential uses that can reside on the SmarTrip card, which 200,000 commuters in the nation's capital use to pay their Metrorail fares, parking fees, and soon bus fares throughout the Washington, D.C.-Baltimore corridor.

Cubic designed and developed the GO CARD(R) System, which is the core technology behind SmarTrip, the first contactless smart card system introduced by a major mass transit agency in the United States. The Chicago Transit Authority's smart card system is also based on the GO CARD System.

Previously, Cubic worked with WMATA to implement SmartBenefits, which allows participating federal and private sector employees to have their transportation benefit downloaded electronically, via their SmarTrip card, at any WMATA Pass/Farecard vendor in the 83 rail stations in the WMATA system.

Under the new security system, WMATA's treasury employees will be issued individualized SmarTrip cards that contain employee-related information. To enter and exit the building, the cardholders simply touch their cards to the Cubic readers installed at each of the facility's entry points, and the system does the rest. The reader then authenticates each user's identity. Eventually, the card could also carry a photograph, which could be matched to a photograph stored at the central database.

Last month, Cubic launched a new security group to address its public transit customers' concerns about enhanced security. The group will work to accelerate smart card development underway before the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. "We believe our transit-based smart card ticketing is a natural base for smart ID and building access cards for several potential security markets, including transit, commercial and government facilities, and airports," said Cubic Corp.'s Mark Gaertner, who is heading the new security group.

"From the time the GO CARD System was introduced in transit, Cubic has stressed the one-card approach. In other words, the same card works on all transit modes, such as is the case with riders in Washington and Chicago," Gaertner said. "Now we are positioning GO CARD as a smart 'tenant' card, where our users and partners can host many applications on a single card, with the first two being transit and access security.

"By integrating simple, low-cost biometrics such as facial recognition and fingerprint analysis, we can deliver an efficient and reliable security system end-to-end."

Cubic has integrated various smart card technologies on several contracts in Europe, Asia, and North America, including Chicago and the Washington Metro which are the first American systems using smart card technology. As part of the TranSys consortium, Cubic also is supplying the entire Automated Fare Collection System including smart cards for the London PRESTIGE project. Every year, nearly 10 billion people use Cubic systems in more than 40 major markets in five continents, including London, Washington DC, Hong Kong, Chicago, New York, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Atlanta, San Francisco, Singapore and Miami.

Cubic Transportation Systems is one of Cubic Corp.'s two major segments. The Cubic Defense Group provides battle command training, instrumented training systems, avionics, data links, product logistical support and radio communication systems.

For more information about Cubic, see the company's Web site at www.cubic.com.