When the Statue of Liberty reopens to the public on August 3, 2004, it will be the latest venue to provide Smarte Locke® Magic Touch™ electronic storage lockers from Smarte Carte, Inc., which have been updated with biometric fingerprint technology to enhance security.

The Statue has been closed to the public since September 11, 2001, and when it reopens this week there will be new security procedures in place. Since November 2001, visitors have been allowed to Liberty and Ellis Islands and have been subject to a security screening process before boarding the ferries to the islands. Now, anyone wanting to go inside the Statue will go through a second screening once they reach Liberty Island. To speed up the screening process, backpacks, purses and other small parcels will not be allowed inside the Statue. Signs and a Park Ranger positioned at the entrance to the screening area will inform visitors that these items are not allowed in the monument.

To provide a safe place for visitors to store their belongings, Evelyn Hill, Inc., the concessionaire at Liberty Island, contracted with Smarte Carte to place 170 Smarte Locke locker doors at the entrance to the Statue. The lockers will rent for $2.00 for the first two hours and $1.00 an hour after that, with a daily maximum fee of $10.00.

"We evaluated several locker systems and chose the Smarte Locke electronic locker product because it offered the best features, security and reliability for our needs at the Statue of Liberty," said Brad Hill of Evelyn Hill, Inc. "We like the extra level of security the biometric fingerprint access system provides and it virtually eliminates the opportunity for theft which limits our liability."

When a customer rents a locker, the system takes two fingerprint scans, stores the information and correlates the prints to the individual locker rented. When the customer returns to retrieve items from the locker, the customer goes through a short series of touch-screens where the locker door number is entered and another fingerprint scan is taken and compared to the first two scans held in the database. Once a match is confirmed, the locker is opened and items can be removed.

In addition to the biometric technology, Smarte Locke Magic Touch lockers offer greater security compared to mechanical lockers that are often found at amusement parks and other attractions. Electronic lockers are computerized with sophisticated activity tracking, reporting, and automated emergency lock, unlock, reset and disable features that are carefully monitored by on-site operators. Locker doors even have silent alarms that are triggered when forced entry is attempted.

Smarte Carte added biometric fingerprint access technology to its lockers, in response to the closing of the company's electronic locker operations at U.S. airports and other transportation centers after September 11, 2001. Personalizing the locker rental with a finger scan ensures that only the renter can reopen the locker, eliminating Transportation Security Agency concerns and allowing Smarte Carte to begin reopening its 40-plus locker concessions at airports.

"At a time when nearly all public facilities have tightened security, the biometric fingerprint feature has been welcomed by amusement parks and other attractions where lockers are an important customer service," said Ed Rudis, President and CEO of Smarte Carte.

Smarte Carte pioneered the airport luggage cart industry over 30 years ago. Success in managing luggage carts allowed Smarte Carte to expand its services to management of carts, strollers, and electronic lockers in train and bus terminals, shopping malls, amusement parks, ski resorts, and zoos. Today, Smarte Carte has more than 1,000 employees managing its services at more than 1,000 locations on five continents.

Smarte Carte continues to lead the transportation, retail, and entertainment industries with innovative equipment with an emphasis on customer service.

Source: Smarte Carte, Inc.

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August 3, 2004