Cubic Announces 10,000 Opal Cards Milestone for Sydney
Sydney, Australia (PRWEB) July 31, 2013 -- Sydney’s new Opal smart card for public transport reached another major milestone, with more than 10,000 cards issued since customer trials began by Transport for New South Wales and Cubic Transportation Systems. The new system, being installed by the Cubic-led Pearl Consortium, is being progressively rolled out across ferries, trains, buses and light rail in the greater Sydney area. By 2015 the Opal system will cover 42 ferry wharves, more than 300 train stations and more than 5,000 buses and light rail systems.
Cubic Transportation Systems’ managing director for Australasia, Tom Walker, said it is gratifying to see how enthusiastically Sydneysiders have adopted the new Opal card.
“We are delighted with the uptake of the Opal card and the benefits it is already providing to Sydney commuters,” said Walker. “Behind the scenes there’s a massive amount of work being done by a small army of specialists from Cubic and others members of the Pearl Consortium, Transport for New South Wales and contractors to make sure we deliver this landmark project on time and on budget.”
Figures just released by the New South Wales Transport Minister, Gladys Berejiklian, show that commuters have made more than 100,000 trips using the new adult Opal card to date. The Opal website, which was launched at the beginning of June this year, has already recorded approximately 100,000 visits.
Commuters are also enthusiastically embracing the new technology available. Minister Berejiklian said 90 percent of customers were registering for a card online instead of by phone, and more than 70 percent were opting for the auto top-up function.
Sydney commuters first began using the Opal card last December, when commuter trials started on the short Neutral Bay ferry run.
Earlier this year the trials were extended to include the Manly ferry service, which accounts for approximately 40 percent of the 15 million passengers carried on the entire Sydney ferry fleet each year.
A major spike in the number of cards in circulation occurred last month, when trials began on the rail system, on the City Circle and stations to Bondi Junction. The trains are the backbone of Sydney’s public transport network, carrying about 1.5 million passengers a day, and more than 304 million a year.
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 http://www.cubic.com.
Contacts:
John MacGregor
Managing Director
MPR
PH: 61-2-9969-3600
Cell: 61-414-445-447
jmac(at)macpr(dot)com(dot)au
Timothy A. Hill
Director of Corporate Communications
Cubic Corporation
PH: 858-505-2430
Cell: 858-232-2927
timothy.hill(at)cubic(dot)com
Timothy Hill, Cubic Corporation, http://www.cubic.com, 858-505-2430, [email protected]
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