[11/29/06]
Officials at Cubic Transportation Systems Ltd., a subsidiary of San Diego-based Cubic Corporation, said the Oyster smart card transport ticketing system developed for London by principle partners Cubic and EDS has won a 2006 RFID (Radio Frequency ID) Breakthrough Award. The award was presented to TranSys, the consortium that Cubic and EDS founded to deliver, maintain and operate the PRESTIGE (the name of the project)/Oyster card system. Cubic provides and maintains the system and EDS provides all operational services.
The system and its developers were recognized with a 2006 RFID Implementation Award for the best overall use and implementation of RFID technology. For a company to be singled out for an Implementation Award it has to have shown that it excelled in proving a business case for RFID and has overcome the obstacles that an RFID rollout presents.
"This is a tremendous honor for us. Once again Cubic's technology is being recognized for its innovation, its ability to improve operations and the bottom line for our transit customer, and its ability to provide maximum convenience for users of public transport," said Steve Shewmaker, managing director of Cubic Transportation Systems, Ltd.
Transport for London (TfL) awarded the PRESTIGE contract to TranSys in 1998 under a Private Finance Initiative.
This award brings to five the total number of awards given for arguably the world's most advanced regional smart card system, Oyster, used by millions of people every day to travel on London's Underground and buses. In 2004 the PRESTIGE-Oyster card system won the Modernising Government Award from the New Statesman magazine, honoring it for the most innovative use of information and communications technology that has made a difference in public life. In 2005 Management Today recognized the system with a gold award for Technology Exploitation for the design, implementation, management and marketing of the Oyster card system. Also in 2005 a panel of judges from the government, banking and accounting industries selected PRESTIGE-Oyster as the Best Private Finance Initiative in two categories: Best Operational Transport Project, and the Grand Prix as the Best Operational Project-All Sectors.
Cubic, which has a 30-year history of contributions to public transport in the UK, began work on the PRESTIGE smart card project in 1998. In 2003 the customer, Transport for London, began its roll out of the Oyster smart card to the public. Today more than six million cards have been distributed. The 2006 RFID Breakthrough Awards are held in conjunction with the RFID Networking Forum. The award was conferred at a gala dinner event on November 8.
The RFID panel consisted of 10 highly respected business leaders and industry analysts who are experts in RFID technology.
The 2006 awards were presented to companies from around the world who are using radio frequency identification technology successfully, whether they be involved in an initial pilot or a full RFID rollout.
Cubic Transportation Systems is a proud recipient of the 2006 Frost & Sullivan Industry Innovation and Advancement Award in the smart card mass transit market in recognition of its inventive strategies for the advancement of smart card technology.
Cubic Transportation Systems is one of two major business segments of Cubic Corporation. Cubic Transportation Systems designs and manufactures automatic fare collection systems for public transit, including rail, buses and parking throughout the world. The Cubic Defense Applications group is a world leader in realistic combat training systems, mission support services and defense electronics. For more information about Cubic, see the company's Web site at www.cubic.com.
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