In-Depth: Cubic Lays Out Arguments for Suing LA Metro in Case of ‘Secret’ Pricing Data
Cubic Transportation Systems contends in recent court filings that it would “surely lose future contracts” to competitors if Los Angeles Metro follows through with its purported plans to release what Cubic argues is a trove of confidential cost and pricing information.
Cubic made the arguments in a lawsuit filed Jan. 28 in California Superior Court against LA Metro, seeking to block the agency from disclosing certain information related to its $66.4 million sole-source contract approved last year by the agency.
Ridango Wins Fare Contract in Sweden’s No. 2 City after Appeals Exhausted by Mikroelektronika
Swedish transport authority Västtrafik, which serves the country’s second-largest city, Gothenburg and the surrounding region, has selected a new vendor, Ridango, to roll out its planned fare system, Mobility Payments has learned.
The choice of the Estonia-based vendor follows a year-long delay in the procurement while appeals worked their way through the administrative courts in Sweden.
Cubic Sues to Block Release of Records by LA Metro Related to Sole-Source Contract
Cubic Transportation Systems has gone to court to block Los Angeles Metro from releasing documents that are part of a $66.4 million no-bid contract upgrade Cubic won last year. The pending release stemmed mainly from a California Public Records Act request submitted by Mobility Payments.
In its lawsuit, which Cubic filed in California Superior Court Tuesday, the vendor argues that its pricing and other information it considers confidential and proprietary should be exempt from disclosure under the public-records law, largely because they are trade secrets. (Download the lawsuit petition below.)
Boston Transit Agency MBTA Sees Fast Start to Open-Loop Payments Service
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority in Boston has seen quick adoption so far of open-loop payments, with the service accounting for nearly 20% of all trips or “taps,” not counting cash, after only five months. (See table below.)
Figures provided by MBTA show riders tapped nearly 2 million times with credit and debit cards or open-loop credentials in digital wallets last month on subway gates, on board buses and on two trolley lines.
Special Report: Japan Sees Movement on Open Loop, but Rollout is Fragmented and Largest Operator Continues to Balk
Japan has been perhaps the most notable holdout among developed countries in resisting the move to open-loop fare payments.
There are some signs that this is beginning to change, however. Three major subway operators plan to at least trial open-loop payments soon or have already started.
Updated: Small U.S. Transit Agency Decides Not to Save Much-Used Closed-Loop Card; Replaces It with Open Loop
A small U.S. transit agency in northeastern Pennsylvania has launched open-loop payments, with plans to shut down its closed-loop card program, which is used for more than half of its rides but which would have required a major overhaul.
The agency, the Monroe County Transportation Authority, or MCTA, which delivers
Dutch Transport Agencies Set New Date for Turning Off 20-year-Old Closed-Loop Card Program–in Two Years; Will They Make It?
Transport agencies in the Netherlands, the first country of any size to accept open-loop fare payments nationally, are having a more difficult time with a complementary piece of their new system–shutting down their 20-year-old closed-loop OV-chipcard.
The group of Dutch transport agencies coordinating both the open- and closed-loop rollouts recently said it expects to finish the migration of a new “OV-pas” closed-loop card by the end of 2026. That means all bus, tram, metro and ferry operators in the country would stop accepting the aging but still popular OV-chipcard (OV-chipkaart in Dutch) by Jan. 1, 2027.
U.S. Agency SEPTA was to Vote Today on Cubic Contract Award before Canceling Agenda Item–was Rival Vendor Conduent Involved?
After months of delay, the board vote on a much-anticipated award of a contract for the Key 2.0 fare system by Philadelphia transit agency SEPTA was scheduled for today. The agency staff has recommended that Cubic Transportation Systems be hired for the $211 million project.
Then SEPTA abruptly pulled the agenda item late last week, with an agency spokesman telling Mobility Payments only that,
Cubic Expected to Win Major Fare-System Contract in Philadelphia
Cubic Transportation Systems is expected to win the major fare-system project from the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, or SEPTA, an up to $211 million deal to implement and operate the agency’s planned Key 2.0 system.
Update: SEPTA abruptly pulled a proposed resolution from the board agenda for the Dec. 19 meeting this week to approve Cubic, with a spokesman telling Mobility Payments only that "discussions about the proposal will continue between board members and SEPTA staff." He did offer more details for the change. An earlier agenda (see page 17), as of last Thursday, Dec. 12, had the proposed resolution scheduled to go foward for a vote Dec. 19 with a recommendation to hire Cubic. There's no evidence yet that the SEPTA staff has withdrawn that recommendation.
Small Transit Agency Buying Through Cal-ITP Sees Open-Loop Transaction Value Climb
Open-loop transaction value doubled for a small California bus agency last month, although credit and debit card payments still represented a small share of total fare revenue, Mobility Payments has learned.
The gains for Humboldt Transit Authority, in far Northern California, present perhaps a typical snapshot of one of the small municipal transit agencies that is buying its equipment through the state-backed Cal-ITP open-loop procurement program. The program is serving a few larger agencies, as well, and recorded its biggest quarter to date in terms of orders of nearly $1 million during the third quarter, as Mobility Payments reported.