ERG and Seattle---12AM (I MISSED THIS ANNOUNCEMENT THANKYOU FOR POSTING) -- ERG trade data forum

[ Show ]

Support VoyForums

[ Shrink ]

VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

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):

[ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, 2, [3], 4, 5, 6, 7 ]

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: 20:25:53 02/25/03 Tue
Author: Name: michaelirish
Subject: ERG and Seattle---12AM (I MISSED THIS ANNOUNCEMENT THANKYOU FOR POSTING)

Name: michaelirish
Location: Sydney, Nsw Australia
Date: 2/26/03 1:58:52 PM
Subject: ERG and Seattle
Comments:
Another win...more to say asbout this:
26 February 2003

ERG Reaches Agreement for Seattle Regional Fare Collection System

Global transit smart card leader ERG Group has reached agreement with
six public transportation agencies for the establishment of a regional
fare collection system covering Seattle and the Central Puget Sound area
of Washington State. The six agencies include Community Transit, King
County Metro Transit, Kitsap Transit, Pierce Transit, Sound Transit, and
Washington State Ferries.

All contractual terms have been agreed, and the contract documents are
to be executed following final approval from the boards of each of the
transportation agencies. King County Metro Transit, the lead agency,
will send the agreement for board approval in a fortnight. One of the
operators, Community Transit, endorsed the agreement last week. The
boards of the other agencies are expected to take action on the
agreement by mid-March.

The contract is worth approximately US$63 million to ERG for the system
implementation and management for a ten-year term once the system is
operational. Work will commence on the project once all the agencies
have approved the contract, with the first phase expected to be in live
operation in approximately two years.

The project involves the design and implementation of a "seamless" smart
card system across 2065 buses, and the commuter rail and ferry services
throughout the region, as well as the fare card and services management
for ten years after implementation. The tender was initiated by the
agencies in order to establish a common fare system utilising smart
cards in order to better coordinate their respective services and
improve the availability, reliability, and convenience of public
transportation.

The Seattle region collectively generates approximately 130 million
passenger journeys per year and more than US$160 million in annual
passenger revenues. It is expected that 400,000 smart cards will be
initially issued on commencement of the project. Non-transit
applications such as banking, retail and toll collection may be added to
the cards at a later stage.

Mr Mike Nash, President of ERG's North American operations, said: "ERG
has built a position of strength on the US west coast with contracts in
Seattle, San Francisco and Ventura County near Los Angeles. When added
to our contracts in Las Vegas, Toronto and Washington DC, ERG has made
its mark on the fare collection industry in North America."

Cardholders will have a variety of means to purchase and load value on
their cards, including both agency and third party retail outlets (such
as convenience stores), by mail or over the telephone, at ticket vending
machines and through the Internet. The convenience of "Autopay" will
also be provided, whereby cards can be automatically revalued through a
pre-authorised charge to a credit card or bank account, without any need
for the cardholder to visit a revalue location.

ERG will use its San Francisco smart card Service Bureau to provide all
of the required services including card issuance, management,
maintenance and the clearing and settling of transactions. As such, it
ideally complements the San Francisco transit smart card project and
will produce significant operating synergies across both locations.

Mr Nash added: "We expect to see strong financial benefits to ERG and
our customers from the use of a single service bureau to service
multiple cities. We are not aware of any of our competitors having the
proven capability to offer this solution to their customers."

King County Executive, Ron Sims, said: "A regional 'seamless' fare
system is a major step forward for users of mass transit. It will also
give businesses, such as Boeing and Microsoft, which subsidise public
transit for their employees, better information about their employee
ridership. It provides accurate ridership data and makes the entire
system more cost efficient."

"We're positioning ourselves to grow with this technology," added Rick
Walsh, General Manager of King County Metro Transit. "Other service
providers can join our system in the future. As the smart card becomes
more widely used, it can also be expanded to allow cardholders to pay
for other services, such as parking, sundries or other municipal
services. Eventually, the microchip with the transit information could
be made more customer friendly by imbedding it in watches, key chains or
other easily carried items for the convenience of the user."

?END?

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

ERG Group

The ERG Group is a world leader in the development and supply of
integrated fare management and software systems for the transit
industry, and for its smart card systems and services. ERG has 16
offices across 12 countries and employs approximately 900 people. ERG's
customer list includes automated fare collection projects in more than
200 cities. Throughout the world, the ERG Group has deployed systems
that have issued more than 50 million smart cards. ERG is an
Australian-based company, listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]