Cubic Transportation Wins $20 Million ‘Touchless’ Transit Ticketing Contract
Roadway Express, Inc., the Akron, Ohio-based trucking company that puts “Roadway” in huge letters on the sides of its trailers, will deploy Qualcomm Inc.’s OmniExpress system on its vehicles and at 20 terminals in the United States and Canada.
Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
The wireless communication and fleet management system is already on some Roadway vehicles, and at some of its terminals, since Roadway helped Qualcomm test and develop it.
The system uses a cornerstone Qualcomm technology, code division multiple access, or CDMA, tapping into the wireless network of Kansas City, Mo.-based Sprint Corp.
It provides real-time, two-way data communications via cell tower. Voice service is optional. It tracks vehicles, too, using global position system satellites.
Qualcomm’s sister product, OmniTracs, uses a satellite for both global positioning and communications.
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Two Sides Of Cubic: Cubic Transportation Systems, a subsidiary of San Diego-based Cubic Corp., is the prime contractor on a $20 million deal to provide a “touchless” mass transit ticketing system for buses in Washington, D.C.
The system links payment for Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority buses , which serve the district and flanking parts of Maryland and Virginia , with the subway fare collection system.
The system uses a “smart card” and allows regular commuters to enter the subway without removing their cards from their wallets.
Meanwhile, Cubic’s other subsidiary, Cubic Defense Systems, announced it has started delivery on a $2.5 million Navy order for 94 ground proximity warning system units. Those go on Navy H-53 and CH-46 helicopters.
Tech People: German corporate giant Siemens AG has named Graham F. Paxton as president and CEO of Siemens Information and Communication Mobile LLC. He will oversee Siemens’ U.S. work in mobile communications devices, infrastructure and applications from his office in San Diego.
Watch for Siemens to enter the North American handset market before the first quarter is up, with its S40 model. The S40 uses a CDMA competitor, global system for mobile communications, or GSM. Also watch for a German name to pop up on the New York Stock Exchange.
In unrelated news, Microsoft Corp. executive Bob McDowell passed through town early this month for a party officially opening the company’s University City-area office. McDowell is vice president of enterprise business relationships. Andrew Chien, CTO and co-founder of San Diego-based Entropia, Inc., has three speaking engagements this week at a San Francisco conference on peer-to-peer computing and distributed computing.
With a computer owner’s permission, Entropia software links a personal computer or enterprise, via modem, into a big network. Entropia then puts unused computing power to work on mammoth number-crunching tasks.
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Calling Bluetooth Groupies: World Research Group plans a conference titled “Bluetooth North America 2001” on Feb. 20 and 21 at the Westgate Hotel. For information, call (800) 647-7600 or visit (www.worldrg.com/it103).
Something Old, Something New: Poet Robert Burns has been enlisted to help Proflowers, Inc. in its Valentine’s Day 2001 advertising campaign. “My love is like a red, red rose,” reads the direct mail piece from the San Diego Internet company.
Paper literature in mailboxes is a new strategy for Proflowers, said Amy Ploch, a company publicist. The company has previously used television, radio, print ads and e-mail.
Proflowers’ missive, signed by CEO Bill Strauss, promises direct-from-grower freshness. Burns, the Scottish poet, wrote his words in the 18th century. Talk about staying fresh.
Graves’ column appears weekly. Write him at bgraves@sdbj.com.
