ERG Group has signed a contract with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) to install and operate a new Regional Customer Service Centre for their smart card based fare collection system, known as SmarTrip®. ERG previously announced it had been selected for the project on 20 January 2003.

The project calls for ERG to establish and operate a smart card customer service centre, to manage card distribution and to clear and settle smart card transactions across 17 transit agencies in Northern Virginia, Maryland and the Washington DC area. Once installed, ERG will operate the system for a period of five years, with two subsequent one-year options. The initial five-year contract term, worth approximately US$20 million, comprises the supply, installation and operation of the system. ERG is expected to manage a card base exceeding 1 million smart cards within the initial term of the contract.

ERG will be responsible for the management of smart cards and operation of the data processing system incorporating clearing, settlement and financial management. ERG will use its existing central computer processing system installed in the San Francisco Bay Area to perform these functions and will interface with existing installed hardware such as gates and readers. The established Bay Area facility has been designed to process smart card transactions from multiple North American cities.

Work is expected to commence on the project within the next 30 days.

Northrop Grumman IT will be responsible for the distribution of smart cards and operation of the customer service centre in the Washington DC area as a subcontractor to ERG.

“It has been very pleasing to move quickly through the contract negotiation process and we now look forward to working with our customer to install and operate our state-of-the-art system,” said Michael Nash, President and General Manager of ERG’s operations in the Americas.

“Washington DC is strategically a very important city in the growing US market for smart card based fare collection systems. Along with our partner Northrop Grumman IT, we have firmly established our position in the North American market and we expect to play a significant role in this region as more and more cities invest in smart card based systems for their fare collection.”

“ERG’s capacity for interoperability and openness of its system, as well as our proven track record in Asia-Pacific, Europe and other parts of North America, are extremely important factors in the eyes of our customers.”

–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 15 offices across 11 countries and employs approximately 780 people. ERG's customer list includes automated fare collection projects in more than 200 cities. Throughout the world, the ERG Group has more than 15 million smart cards in circulation. ERG is an Australian-based company, listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.