The Public Transport Ticketing Corp. of Sydney, Australia, has awarded Cubic Corp. a contract to oversee the adoption of a smart card ticketing system in that city, according to the transport authority.
In a statement, the authority valued the contract at AU$398 million (US$337 million or 275 million euros) to design, develop, implement and maintain the system through 2024. The company says it will receive additional payments depending on the number of customers using smart cards and the number and value of financial transactions per smart card.
Cubic will work with engineering company Downer EDI Ltd, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia Ltd, prepaid cards provider epay Australia Pvt. Ltd., and bus-equipment provider Parkeon Ltd, according the statement. Parkeon will provide the on-bus driver console, epay Australia will oversee card distribution and funds reloads to card accounts, and Commonwealth Bank will process the card transactions.
The four entities previously worked together on the smart card ticketing systems in Perth and South East Queensland, according to local media reports.
The cards will be available at retail outlets across Sydney and at customer-contact centers. Cardholders will be able to add value to their card accounts online, at the customer-contact centers and through auto-load machines.
“Commuters would have to place the contactless smart cards near a reader before boarding trains, government or private buses, or government ferries,” an official for the transport authority tells PaymentsSource. The transit authority will deduct the fares from the smart card account automatically when the cardholders waive their smart card again at the end of the journey, he adds.
