Cubic to upgrade Maryland MTA AFC

Cubic Transportation Systems (CTS) announced Nov. 22 the award of a $4.8 million contract modification from the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) to upgrade its Automatic Fare Collection (AFC) system.

Cubic says the upgraded system will provide the MTA with the opportunity to accept new payment methods, such as mobile payments, as well as add new features, including a new customer web portal and an integration path with third-party transport services in the future.

To date, Cubic provided software maintenance and technical support for the AFC system. Under the contract modification, CTS will perform a software update, upgrading AFC from Cubic’s NextFareTM 4.0 revenue management system, to NextFare 7.  The cloud-based platform will replace all the key functionality currently provided by the existing scheme and offer a number of advanced features, such as payment card industry (PCI) compliant payment application for processing credit and debit transactions; support of enhanced fare policy; and enhanced reporting and analytics, as well as allow the MTA to monitor the conditions of fare collection equipment.

Cubic says a future expansion benefit of the system is that the platform can be enhanced to enable the MTA to integrate third-party systems, such as bike-sharing and ride-sharing services, into the transport experience for the public, in alignment with its BaltimoreLink program.

“The new system will allow the MTA to manage and control its own destiny, giving it freedom to implement a variety of innovative and integrated solutions now and in the future,” added Ian Newberg, vice president of business development, Cubic Transportation Systems. “It is not only a chance to significantly enhance current service offering, but also an exciting opportunity to provide a richer transportation experience in the coming years.”