Field Testing Underway for Pilot for Cubic’s Integrated Ticketing and Revenue Management System

TransLink, the Public Transit Authority responsible for managing South East Queensland’s major transport operators, announced in late August that it began the first phase of the rollout of a new integrated ticketing and revenue management system supplied by Cubic. 

Cubic was awarded a comprehensive contract in 2003 to design, build, operate and maintain what will be Queensland’s first smart card-based integrated ticketing system and regional services for public transport. The smart card-based system will ultimately link the region’s transportation services to a single smart card for payment of fares.

This first stage of the pilot consists of five Queensland Rail stations and one private bus operator conducting field testing for the pilot. During the first stage, a select focus group will use the system, employing contactless smart cards. Current paper tickets will also be available to the general public.  During the second stage of the pilot, TransLink plans to issue more smart cards to a wider demographic selection of volunteers to use the system and provide feedback.

“The commencement of the smart card pilot was an important milestone for the project,” said Luke Franzmann, general manager of TransLink.  “Through the introduction of stored value smart cards, this project will improve the quality of service that we provide our patrons and introduce a more reliable and convenient alternative to paper tickets.”

 Stored value smart cards enable customers to put a predetermined amount of value on their cards and pay as they go, with the fare calculated at the end of the journey by “touching off” the card at a reader. Valid transfers between services are also automatically determined.  

Cubic is providing Queensland the latest generation automatic fare collection technology, including Cubic’s Nextfare™ central computer and back office systems, add-value and ticket vending machines, fare gates and rail ticket office terminals. All of these are included in the pilot, which is installed at some of the busiest stations in Brisbane’s Central Business District, including Roma Street, Central and Brunswick Street, plus two suburban stations, Petrie and Sandgate. 

At the same time, bus ticket systems consisting of driver control units, card interface devices and passenger interface modules for issuing paper tickets and processing smart cards will be installed on the entire fleet of buses operated by Hornibrook Bus Lines.

The company’s central computer and back-office systems are currently being tested for operational support during the pilot to issue reports, handle revenue clearing and settlement, and provide ongoing cardholder support.

The completion of the first phase is scheduled for the end of September; full rollout of the system will commence in 2006. Ultimately, the system will also link all private and public sector bus operators and Queensland Rail to the one AFC system. In addition, the contract includes a managed services agreement to be provided for a minimum of ten years, which commences upon successful completion of the pilot.  At that time, Cubic will be responsible for all ticketing system operations and maintenance, regional clearing and settlement, card management and customer services.