Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your
contribution is not tax-deductible.)
PayPal Acct: 
Feedback: 
Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):
| Saturday, February 21, 06:20:37pm | [ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 ] |
| Subject: JFK Airport Access Light Rail To Offer “MetroCard" Compatibility | |
|
Author: San Diego, Calif., Monday, October 9, 2000 -- New York’s JFK International “Air Train,” |
[
Next Thread |
Previous Thread |
Next Message |
Previous Message
]
Date Posted: Saturday, July 05, 11:12:45pm In reply to: Visa Cash Solution for Public Transportation Bill Powell San Francisco CA USALast modified: 01/24/2001 06:07:41 PM 's message, "San Francisco--seperate file." on Saturday, April 05, 01:49:34am JFK Airport Access Light Rail To Offer “MetroCard" Compatibility San Diego, Calif., Monday, October 9, 2000 -- New York’s JFK International “Air Train,” the Light Rail System which provides easy airport access, will feature MetroCard compatibility, providing seamless common ticketing with New York’s subways and buses. The ticketing technology and equipment will be provided by Cubic Transportation Systems, a subsidiary of San Diego-based Cubic Corporation (AMEX: CUB) -- the provider of the nation's only two smart card-based mass transit ticketing systems. The airport access system, which is scheduled to begin service in 2002, will also be smart card-ready in anticipation of the new ticketing technology’s introduction later in the decade. Under a five-year agreement with the “Air Train” project contractor, Ontario-based Bombardier, Cubic will design, manufacture and maintain faregates, automatic vending machines, computers, software and customer service equipment for two new light rail stations serving the JFK Airport. This multi-million dollar contract will provide state-of-the-art equipment and establish new customer relationships with Bombardier and the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey. "We're excited about being involved in a project that will help passengers at one of the world's busiest airports to get to their destinations faster and easier," said Walter C. Zable, CEO and president, Cubic Transportation Systems. "We are providing a fare collection system that offers proven technology." The faregates, vendors and customer service terminals will be installed at NYCT's Howard Beach Station and the Jamaica Transit Complex that serves subway, bus and Long Island Rail Road customers. The new light rail system will link passengers and airport employees to each of the JFK Airport terminals, as well as parking lots and rental car facilities. The central computer and software Cubic provided to serve the MTA’s MetroCard system in 1993 were designed to accommodate this additional service. The system is capable of handling all of the metropolitan region’s transit fare collection and will easily expand to include next-generation contactless smart card technology. "Cubic’s recently introduced Nextfare™ Solution Suite, which provides off-the-shelf hardware and software and includes farecard distribution, settlement and reconciliation can further simplify the transition,” Zable said. Newly designed Cubic faregates, which feature 36-inch wide aisles and an unobstructed pathway once the fare is paid, can easily accommodate passengers with luggage or wheelchairs. Similar gates were developed for use at Washington, D.C.’s Reagan National Airport station and won the American Public Transit Association’s Design Award in 1995. The automatic vending machines will match those presently in service at all New York subway stations to enhance customer confidence and availability. These devices feature touchscreen instructional menus in nine languages, including English, providing further convenience and ease of use for passengers. Cubic is the world leader in airport access systems serving Washington, D.C.’s Reagan National, Chicago’s O’Hare, London’s Gatwick, Sydney, Australia and Hong Kong, and technology soon to be operational in San Francisco. Plans are for the system to initially utilize magnetic stripe technology -- currently in place throughout the New York City Transit (NYCT) system -- with infrastructure technology to allow cost effective smart card upgrades. Cubic -- A Leader in Intelligent Mass Transit Fare Collection Technology Cubic is the provider of the smart card technology in Washington D.C. and Chicago, the first and only major U.S. cities to make the contactless cards available to customers throughout their mass transit systems. Chicago's SmartCard system allows commuters to use one card to access Chicago Transit. Authority trains and buses -- as well as buses operated by Pace, the suburban bus division of the Regional Transportation Authority -- on a passenger friendly “walk-through” basis without having to insert, swipe or touch the ticket to a processing device. Cubic and London Transport conducted a pilot of the world's first transit-based smart card system in 1989. Since then Cubic has gone on to implement smart card technology in Kuala Lumpur; Shanghai and Guangzhou, China; Germany; and Scandinavia, in addition to Washington, D.C. and Chicago. Cubic will begin activation of the world’s largest system utilizing smart cards at London Transport next year. Full activation will be completed in August 2002. This is all part of the $2 billion PRESTIGE contract with London Transport. Cubic has the world's largest base of mass-transit ticketing systems -- including SVC, magnetic and smart card rail, bus, subway, toll and parking. It has complete system installations in London, China, Argentina, New York, Sydney, Miami, Singapore, Mexico, Scandinavia, San Francisco and Atlanta, in addition to Chicago and Washington, D.C. Cubic is the world's leading provider of intelligent ticketing systems and integration of those systems for transit, with more than half a billion passengers around the world utilizing its turnkey solutions. Posted on Sun, Jun. 22, 2003 BART to SFO starts running today By Shawn Neidorf Mercury News The BART line extends its reach to San Francisco Airport today, but starting Monday, it also will increase weekday commute options for Bay Area residents who don't work at the airport. That's because the new Millbrae station that is part of the project will be a transfer point between the BART and Caltrain lines. That will allow people who commute between the South Bay and San Francisco and between the East Bay and the Peninsula or South Bay to switch from one system to the other at Millbrae. It won't work on weekends, because Caltrain construction keeps trains from running then. Commuters had mixed reactions to the possibility of a two-system commute. Karen Grogg of Sunnyvale commutes to San Francisco by Caltrain, and she has no intention of changing her routine: She loves the train. ``I just find it romantic,'' she said. There's a tone to the train, set by the conductors, she said. Cell phones are frowned on. The same people ride the same train each day, leading to friendships, or at least nodding acquaintances. ``There's a culture on the train,'' she said, one that BART doesn't have. One Caltrain rider said he preferred the train route through San Francisco, which runs straighter north than BART, which curves west as it makes its way to the financial district. And, as another train rider said, Caltrain has an express train, while BART does not. Others said their decisions would be cost-driven -- and taking both systems would, in many cases, be more expensive. But some Caltrain riders said they would be willing to try a combo commute. It was especially attractive to commuters who need to be in San Francisco's financial district at a particular time; they now rely on Muni streetcars and buses or walk to their offices from the train station at Fourth and King streets. BART has several stops in the financial district. Margaret Grech of Redwood City said she would consider a Caltrain-BART run if it would make it easier for her to get downtown on time. ``I'm convenience-driven,'' she said. ``I'm really going to consider it.'' The combo commute would work the other way, too, giving San Francisco and Daly City residents who have an easier time getting to a BART station than a Caltrain stop a new way to get to jobs in the Peninsula or South Bay. The two-system option would make it easier for East Bay residents who commute to the Peninsula or South Bay to use trains. It probably would be most convenient for those who live or work along the Pittsburg/Bay Point line, because that is the train line that will go directly to Millbrae. Those who use other lines would have to transfer. Richard Simpson, a financial consultant who lives in Brentwood and commutes to Palo Alto several times a week, is intrigued by the new option. He could board the train in Pittsburg and transfer at Millbrae to a Caltrain that would take him to Palo Alto. Simpson said the timing of the trains would be important to him, but if the schedule were convenient, he would be willing to pay more than it would cost him to commute by car: ``I really don't like to drive.'' Commuters to and from the East Bay already can transfer between BART and Caltrain in San Francisco, but it requires taking a Muni streetcar or walking between BART's Embarcadero station and Caltrain's station at Fourth and King streets. That's what Jerry Cauthen does when he travels from his home in Oakland to the Caltrain office in San Carlos -- he is a transportation consultant who sometimes works for the rail line. He might try the Millbrae transfer point sometime, especially if he were stuck on a Caltrain without a seat, and transferring to BART might gain him one. But otherwise, he's satisfied with his present approach. Using the two systems to commute could add to the cost of a Caltrain-only trip in many cases, the exact amount depending on the distance traveled and the type of tickets used. It's worth it to Richard Silver, executive director of the Rail Passengers Association of California. He lives close to a BART stop in San Francisco, so starting there rather than getting to Caltrain first would cut his overall travel time to the Peninsula or South Bay, he said. He thinks the new connection will help students get to City College of San Francisco and to Stonestown Galleria mall, as well as help Daly City residents get to southern San Mateo County. ``Personally, I think it's going to be very, very good for riders who use public transit'' in Santa Clara, San Mateo and San Francisco counties, he said. New BART routes The 8.7-mile BART extension to San Francisco International Airport opens for service today. The $1.5 billion project includes new stations in South San Francisco, San Bruno and Millbrae, and the airport's international terminal. At Millbrae, the BART line meets Caltrain. SamTrans buses will serve the three new stations. Trains originating in Dublin/Pleasanton will go to the airport. A few trains coming from Pittsburg/Bay Point also will go to the airport on weekdays. Riders on lines that start elsewhere must transfer to get to the airport. Fares to the BART airport station range from $1.50 to $6.90, one way. Trains are scheduled to run every 20 minutes between Millbrae and the airport. Trains from Millbrae and the airport are slated to run to downtown San Francisco and the East Bay every 15 minutes on weekdays and every 20 minutes evenings and weekends. Weekday service to the airport starts at 4 a.m., Saturday service at 6 a.m. and Sunday service at 8 a.m. (The first trains from San Francisco and the East Bay will arrive at the airport 60 to 90 minutes after the BART system opens.) Service ends each day at midnight. For more information, go to www.bart.gov/news/features/news_8466.asp or call (650) 992-2278. [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] |
| Subject | Author | Date |
| Caltrain officials brought high-speed rail on the Peninsula a step closer Thursday. | High-speed rail could be gravy train | Saturday, July 05, 11:14:35pm |
|
||