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| Sunday, May 17, 02:39:40am | [ 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: Northrop Grumman’s IT division, a subcontractor and partner to ERG, will distribute the smart cards and operate a customer service center in Reston, Va. | |
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Author: When the SmarTrip installation is complete, transit riders “will be able to go almost anywhere in Maryland, the District and Virginia using the cards,” Bond said. |
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Date Posted: Saturday, October 04, 12:07:01am In reply to: 10/03/03 Metrobuses in Arlington, Va., have accepted the plastic SmarTrip cards for about a year in a pilot program. 's message, "Washington area set to expand smart-card transit program ERG Group is the lead contractor on the SmarTrip integration project" on Saturday, October 04, 12:05:50am >http://gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/23747-1.html >10/03/03 > >Washington area set to expand smart-card transit >program > >By Trudy Walsh >GCN Staff > >Washington area bus riders have long been resigned to >the frustration of fumbling for exact change as they >race to the bus stop. But the fumbling may soon be a >thing of the past, thanks to the Washington >Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s plans to improve >the smart cards it uses for fare payment. > >WMATA this week gave two companies “notice to proceed” >on the SmarTrip program, which would let transit >riders in the District of Columbia, Maryland and >Virginia use one plastic card to pay fares on as many >as 17 different transit systems, including WMATA’s >Metrobus, Montgomery County’s Ride-On bus service, and >Maryland Rail Commuter (MARC) and Virginia Railway >Express (VRE) trains. > >ERG Group of Concord, Calif., and Northrop Grumman >Corp. will offer back-end and customer service >operations for SmarTrip. > >Since May 1999, SmarTrip cards have been accepted for >fares in WMATA’s Metrorail system and for payment at >parking lots operated by Metro. > >Metrobuses in Arlington, Va., have accepted the >plastic SmarTrip cards for about a year in a pilot >program. The buses are equipped with metal fare boxes, >which look much like the coin-operated fare boxes that >have been on buses for years. > >Passengers touch their SmarTrip card to the fare box >card reader, instead of depositing change. > >The estimated cost for the region to adopt the fare >boxes is about $100 million, said Murray Bond, WMATA’s >director of SmarTrip operations. > >When the SmarTrip installation is complete, transit >riders “will be able to go almost anywhere in >Maryland, the District and Virginia using the cards,” >Bond said. > >ERG Group is the lead contractor on the SmarTrip >integration project, Bond said. The company will >manage the smart cards and handle SmarTrip’s financial >management through its central processing system in >the San Francisco Bay area. > >Northrop Grumman’s IT division, a subcontractor and >partner to ERG, will distribute the smart cards and >operate a customer service center in Reston, Va. [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] |