Cubic Survey Highlights Strong Market Demand for New Initiatives in Transport Ticketing
SAN DIEGO, Calif. (PRWEB) September 27, 2013 -- A survey taken by visitors at the 60th UITP World Congress and Mobility & City Transport Exhibition in Geneva revealed strong market demand for NextAgent, Cubic’s new video ticket office. The survey showed that 100 percent of respondents believe NextAgent is intuitive, simple and easy to use.
NextAgent, an innovative hybrid of ticket office, call center and ticket vending machine, enables operators to deal with ticketing demands cost effectively by locating expertise in centralized ticketing “hubs” to which all passengers have access whenever they are traveling. Alternatively and for maximum flexibility in resourcing, agents across the network can be available to manage demand between busy stations and those with fewer passengers on a minute-by-minute basis. The survey showed that 94 percent of respondents agreed with the suggestion that utilizing centralized staff in a call center would offer a number of efficiencies over the current status quo, where staff are distributed at stations across the operator’s network.
Instead of the normal ticket office window, NextAgent features a high-definition screen displaying a live link to the ticket agent at the hub. Passengers speak with the agent throughout the ticketing process – exactly as they would at an existing ticket window, and 80 percent of respondents agreed that passengers will be as comfortable talking to staff via video as they are through the window of a regular ticket office.
NextAgent also delivers all the functionality of a staffed ticket office including vending a comprehensive range of media (such as smart cards, magnetic tickets, paper barcodes, e-ticketing, and mobile ticketing). An integrated camera and document scanning facilities enable photos and other personal documents to be verified. With these services on offer, 92 percent of people said that NextAgent would make passengers more willing to use a ticket machine when a staffed office is unavailable.
Furthermore, 82 percent believed that passengers will always have problems with tickets that they would need to resolve face to face, and 78 percent agreed that passengers will always prefer face-to-face confirmation of ticket selection if the ticket is expensive. Reassuringly, 80 percent of respondents think that NextAgent could make passengers feel safer at quiet stations or late at night.
“The NextAgent survey results demonstrate the transport industry’s demand for ticketing services that make the best use of both passenger and staff time,” says Matt Cole, senior vice president, strategy and business development at Cubic Transportation Systems. “With the range of services that NextAgent offers, passengers can fulfill a number of their requirements in one place at one time – from topping up their smart card to renewing a rail card or buying a traditional magnetic stripe ticket. Knowing that NextAgent combines technological expertise with the face-to-face contact with staff that passengers value is a real asset, and we look forward to making a significant contribution to the next stage of transport ticketing.”
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 secure communications systems. 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 solutions and related services for intelligent travel applications. Cubic delivers integrated systems for transportation and traffic management, delivering tools for travelers to choose the smartest and easiest way to travel and pay for their journeys, and enabling transportation authorities and agencies to manage demand across the entire transportation network – all in real-time. 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.cts.cubic.com
Contacts:
Rosemary Alton/Harriet Jamieson
HAMG360
PH: +44 (0) 20 8289 6216
Rosemary.alton(at)HAMG360(dot)com
Harriet.jamieson(at)HAMG360(dot)com
Timothy A. Hill
Director of Corporate Communications
Cubic Corporation
PH: +1 (858) 505-2430
Cell: +1 (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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