Cubic Receives $26 Million Contract to Deliver Smart Card-Based Public Transit Ticketing System for San Diego County.

Business Editors

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 17, 2002

San Diego-based Cubic Transportation Systems, a subsidiary of Cubic Corp. (AMEX:CUB), today announced it has received a $26 million contract from the San Diego Metropolitan Transit Development Board (MTDB) and the North County Transit District (NCTD), to provide a regional integrated smart card-based automatic fare collection system for the county's buses, trolley, Coaster Commuter Rail and future expansion of the light rail system.

The project's goal is to unify fare payment throughout the county. It encompasses all of San Diego's existing and new rail systems as well as all fixed-route and express buses. Cubic will provide the financial management capability needed for a regional smart card system with multiple operators. Smart card benefits include increasing fare revenue recovery, decreasing the potential for fraud, and promoting accurate and timely distribution of revenue and ridership data.

"We are pleased with the smart card contract decision," said Tom Larwin, General Manager of MTDB. "This project will promote seamless travel throughout San Diego County using smart card technology to simplify fare payment, and enhance our customers' experience."

"We are delighted that MTDB and NCTD are going forward with a smart card ticketing system for the county. Transit riders using the systems we've already installed in Washington, D.C. and Chicago enjoy hassle-free, convenient transit access, and soon San Diego riders will be able to enjoy the same," said Walter C. Zable, president and CEO, Cubic Transportation Systems.

"This is a momentous day for public transportation in San Diego County," said Dave Druker, past NCTD Chair and current Councilman from Del Mar of the NCTD Board adoption of the Smart Card item. "We began working on this project in 1999 and it's exciting to bring it to fruition with this vote."

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 Cubic's Nextfare(TM) Business Management System, a complete backend administrative and revenue management system. This system enables regional operators to deliver a variety of convenience features to transit riders, including Internet ticket purchasing, lost card protection services and automated transit benefit programs. The system also includes Cubic's Nextfare terminal architecture which gives transit operators the flexibility to choose from a variety of available smart card technologies and applications and continually enhance the system as new advances occur in the marketplace.

Although this contract is only for rail and bus fare integration using smart cards, MTDB and NCTD may explore other applications in the future, which could include using the card for ballpark admissions or to pay parking fees.

In March, the Los Angeles County's Metropolitan Transportation Authority approved a Cubic contract for a smart card-based system throughout L.A. County. When finished, it will be the largest smart card transit fare collection system in California. With both L.A. and San Diego counties implementing Cubic smart card systems, a southern California transit card could become a reality.

Cubic Transportation Systems is the world's largest provider of integrated electronic ticketing systems and has smart card contracts for public transit systems in North America, Europe and Asia. Every year, nearly 10 billion people use Cubic systems in more than 40 major markets in cities on five continents, including London, Washington, D.C., Hong Kong, Chicago, New York, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Atlanta, San Francisco, Singapore and Miami. As part of the TranSys consortium, Cubic also is supplying the entire automated fare collection system including smart cards for the London PRESTIGE project.

The corporation's other major segment, Cubic Defense Applications, provides instrumented air and ground combat training systems, battle command training, simulations and simulation support for U.S. and allied military forces. The group also produces high technology avionics, data links and communications products for government and commercial customers, and a wide range of technical and logistics services.

Recently, Cubic added a security group to expand its smart card technology into non-transit uses including parking, security and access control. For more information about Cubic, see the company's Web site at www.cubic.com.