SAN DIEGO, Calif. – May 7, 2013 – Cubic Transportation Systems, a leading integrator of payment and information technology and services for intelligent travel solutions, today recognized the achievement of its Minneapolis/St. Paul-based customer, Metro Transit that achieved near record high usage of its Go-To Card contactless smart cards in February 2013. The Go-To Card represented 54.7 percent of all fares collected during the month.
The 3.43 million rides were paid for using Metro Transit’s Go-To Cards, which include the Metropass and cards used by high school and college students. Metro Transit is the 15th largest U.S. transit agency based on its ridership, which exceeded 81 million in 2012.
The achievement drew the attention of the Star Tribune, where reporter Tim Harlow noted that Tom Randall, senior manager of revenue operations for Metro Transit, said the use of the older SuperSaver cards will drop even more as Metro Transit steers riders to the Go-To cards.1
“We are very excited about the growing use of the Go-To Card in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area,” said Steve Shewmaker, president of Cubic Transportation Systems. “The rising use of the Go-To Card is good for both Metro Transit and its customers, offering the convenience of cashless travel and one card to pay for all your public transportation whether bus, light rail or commuter train.”
With the Go-To Card, riders tap their card to a reader, which automatically calculates and deducts the amount from their cards, speeding up the time it takes for riders to board buses and trains.
The Go-To Card is used across all modes of public transportation in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area including light rail and buses in addition to the new Bus Rapid Transit line coming this summer, which will have card readers at both the front and back entrances.
Metro Transit was one of the first transportation agencies in the U.S. to use contactless smart cards for fare collection, and Cubic was first awarded the contract to build their fare collection system in January 2002.
About Cubic Transportation Systems
Cubic® Transportation Systems, Inc., is part of Cubic Corporation. Cubic Corporation is the parent company of three major business segments: Defense Systems, Mission Support Services and Transportation Systems. Cubic Defense Systems is a leading provider of realistic combat training systems and defense electronics. Mission Support Services is a leading provider of training, operations, maintenance, technical and other support services for U.S. and allied nations.
Cubic® Transportation Systems, Inc., is a leading integrator of payment and information technology and services for intelligent travel solutions. Cubic delivers integrated solutions that help transport operators manage their operations and services and give passengers choices in the smartest and easiest ways to pay their fares. Cubic specializes in design, development, manufacture, supply, installation, integration, services and information. Services provided by Cubic include on-site management, central systems, operations support, patron support, business support and field services.
Every year, nearly 7 billion rides are taken worldwide using Cubic payment and information systems. Cubic has delivered over 400 projects in 40 major markets on five continents. Active projects include London; Brisbane (Southeast Queensland) region, Australia; New York/New Jersey region; Washington, D.C. /Baltimore/Virginia region; Los Angeles region; San Diego region; San Francisco region; Minneapolis/St. Paul; Chicago; Atlanta region; Miami (South Florida) region; Vancouver and Edmonton, Canada; Sydney (New South Wales), Australia; Germany; and Scandinavia.
For more information about Cubic, see the company’s website at www.cubic.com.
[1]> “Metro Transit fare collection is in the Go-To cards,” by Tim Harlow, Star Tribune, April 23, 2013, http://www.startribune.com/local/204015331.html
Contacts:
Debra Montner
Montner & Associates
PH: 203-226-9290 ext. 12
Cell: 203-984-7861
Timothy A. Hill
Director of Corporate Communications
Cubic Corporation
PH: 858-505-2430
Cell: 858-232-2927
timothy.hill@cubic.com