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Monday August 30, 10:37 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: Orbital Sciences Corporation
Orbital Selected for $9 Million Transportation Management
Systems Contract
- San Mateo County Transit District Selects Company's Satellite-Based Vehicle Location System to Manage
400-Plus Vehicle Fleet -
DULLES, Va., Aug. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB - news) announced today that its Transportation
Management Systems (TMS) Division has been selected by the San Mateo County Transit District (SamTrans) in San Carlos, California for an
$8.8 million contract to supply its state-of- the-art ORBTRAC satellite-based automatic vehicle location (AVL) system. SamTrans will use
Orbital's system to track, monitor and manage its 412- vehicle fleet, consisting of 316 fixed-route vehicles, 62 paratransit vehicles and 34 support
vehicles. Orbital's ORBTRAC system provides real-time vehicle positioning information that will allow SamTrans to improve the efficiency of its
fleet operations and service to its customers.
The SamTrans award helps position Orbital as the dominant provider of public transportation management solutions in Northern California's
Silicon Valley region, following wins in Santa Clara from the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority and in Oakland from the
Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District. Orbital's TMS products are used in some of the country's largest metropolitan areas, including New
York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Houston and Denver.
The ORBTRAC system provides instantaneous vehicle location information delivered through the U.S. Government's Global Positioning
System (GPS) satellites. This state-of-the-art system, consisting of data processors and fleet management software, offers such in-vehicle
passenger amenities as digital read-outs and voice annunciation of the next stop on predetermined routes. It also incorporates an automatic
passenger counting system that gives local authorities the information they need to appropriately schedule vehicles to meet peak and non-peak
passenger demand. The system's terrestrial- based communications component uses Motorola's next-generation mobile radios that have
already been field-proven for high reliability.
SamTrans General Manager Gerald T. Haugh said, ``We are proud to be on the leading edge of implementing an intelligent transportation
system that will improve reliability and service for San Mateo residents and visitors. With this new tool from Orbital, we believe that we can
encourage more people to use public transportation, thereby helping to alleviate traffic congestion and improve air quality.'
``The San Mateo County program, coupled with our previous wins in Oakland and Santa Clara, is helping Orbital to establish a strong presence
in Northern California,' said Mr. David L. Mathisen, Vice President and General Manager of Orbital's TMS Division. ``Our ORBTRAC public
transit system will enable SamTrans and other California transit authorities to create a comprehensive approach to traffic and transit
management.'
Orbital's TMS business has experienced rapid growth over the past several years as a result of new contract wins and the 1998 acquisition of
Raytheon Company's transportation management business. Orbital TMS is now the country's leading supplier of satellite-based AVL systems,
generating annualized revenues of about $50 million and employing over 200 people at facilities in Germantown and Linthicum, Maryland and
State College, Pennsylvania.
Orbital is one of the largest space and information systems companies in the world, with 1999 revenues targeted to exceed $900 million. The
company, which is headquartered in Dulles, Virginia, employs over 5,200 people at its major facilities in the United States, Canada and several
overseas locations. Orbital is the world's leading manufacturer of low-cost space systems and products, including satellites, launch vehicles,
electronics and sensors, satellite ground systems and software, and satellite-based navigation and communications products. Through its
ORBCOMM and ORBIMAGE affiliates and ORBNAV subsidiary, Orbital is also a pioneering operator of satellite-based networks that provide
data communications, high-resolution imagery and automotive information services to customers all around the world.
SOURCE: Orbital Sciences Corporation
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