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is there a reason it is called VENTra ????

OK - it's Friday (TGIF btw) and I am going to unload a M_A_J_O_R VENTra...I got my card in the mail; followed the instuctions to activate it (very poor btw) and received a message that 'my card is already activated' (wtf). OK - I'll play along. I do not know the access code (never set it up - do-h); cannot log in to retrieve it (two strikes for you), so I call the "toll free" number (what a joke); and to speak with someone about it I am told

(with a very cheery female voice (oh spare me honey) "your wait time will be approximately 26 minutes". yeah right. like I have NOTHING better to do than sit on hold

and listen to this nauseating music (good thing I collect barf bags from southwest airlines (now THERE is a company with awesome customer service btw - can you say capitalism with a KAPITAL SEE?????). VENTRA darling - you get a BIG FAT F- in my grade book. I am flushing this lovely little card down the toilet. Oh wait - i will use my handy dandy "pick puncher" and make some nice guitar picks out of you; it was nice knowing you. and why do I hate the CTA ??? let me count the ways. When I get even a B+ from my customers I have to meet with them to see what ever I can do to change that grade to an A+.

 

OK - I feel SO much better now...TGIF

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Permalink Reply by Rich S on November 1, 2013 at 10:18pm

Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on November 5, 2013 at 10:07pm
Permalink Reply by Michelle on November 6, 2013 at 7:43am
Ok... Chicago card plus did not take 2.5 seconds to register... If it is acceptable for ventra got take 2.5 seconds to register, it will be slow boarding on a bus.

Ugh.
Permalink Reply by Rich S on November 6, 2013 at 8:08am

It takes extra time if they're going to charge you multiple times for a single trip and have that fee calculator plugging away in the background looking for ways to charge you more. 

Michelle said:

Ok... Chicago card plus did not take 2.5 seconds to register... If it is acceptable for ventra got take 2.5 seconds to register, it will be slow boarding on a bus.

Ugh.
Permalink Reply by Duppie on November 6, 2013 at 8:49am

I am really starting to like Ventra.

On the last 5 trips, I got waived thru twice. Once because the reader was out of order. Once because my card would not register, even after half a dozen attempts.

Ventra turns out to be a real money saver!

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on November 6, 2013 at 9:02am

Nice to have a little bit of good news in this continuing shitstorm.

h' $550 said:

Permalink Reply by Thunder Snow on November 6, 2013 at 9:05am

The possibly good news is, if it takes that long to tap in a Ventra card, that may be an indication that CTA/Ventra is using some layers of encryption and security checking, which may prevent some fraud.  On the other hand, the slowness may just indicate that the card readers are substandard crap.  Who knows?
 
Michelle said:

Ok... Chicago card plus did not take 2.5 seconds to register... If it is acceptable for ventra got take 2.5 seconds to register, it will be slow boarding on a bus.

Ugh.
Permalink Reply by Thunder Snow on November 6, 2013 at 9:24am

So far, I've been lucky: none of my trips seem to have been overcharged.  Where I am having problems is with runaway autoloading.  I set my autoload from my credit card at $20.  After $18 transferred over from my Chicago Card Plus, Ventra correctly grabbed $20, to bring my balance to $38, as it should have.  But, for no apparent reason, two hours later, it grabbed ANOTHER $20, bringing my balance way up to $58.  So, I've turned off autoload, and now have to double-check the balance regularly, on the web site or at the train station vending machine, as the turnstiles no longer give you a balance read out.

Similar experience with a one-day-pass: bought one and used it, then another pass was mysteriously purchased without my intervention, less than an hour after buying the first one.  Could have been my own fault, I don't know, as I had switched on the autoload feature there as well.  That autoload is now permanently turned off.

So, now I have an unasked-for one-day-pass sitting "in queue" on my card, ready to spring into action the next time I swipe in.  So, I've stopped using my registered card, until I get to a day when a one-day-pass will make sense with a lot of errands to run.  I bought an unregistered card from the vending machine and am using that for now, loading with cash, so Ventra can't connect the new card to me and drop the pass on that card as well.  In two months, I'll register that card to recoup my $5 card price, throw the card away and probably repeat the process.

Glad Ventra makes things so much easier than my Chicago Card Plus, which autoloaded sensibly and rarely needed looking at....

Cameron 7.5 mi said:

That's why they had to charge you double for rides where they actually read your card.
Permalink Reply by Fran Kondorf on November 6, 2013 at 9:56am

Trying to follow this makes my head hurt.

Kind of makes you miss tokens, doesn't it?



Thunder Snow said:

So far, I've been lucky: none of my trips seem to have been overcharged.  Where I am having problems is with runaway autoloading.  I set my autoload from my credit card at $20.  After $18 transferred over from my Chicago Card Plus, Ventra correctly grabbed $20, to bring my balance to $38, as it should have.  But, for no apparent reason, two hours later, it grabbed ANOTHER $20, bringing my balance way up to $58.  So, I've turned off autoload, and now have to double-check the balance regularly, on the web site or at the train station vending machine, as the turnstiles no longer give you a balance read out.

Similar experience with a one-day-pass: bought one and used it, then another pass was mysteriously purchased without my intervention, less than an hour after buying the first one.  Could have been my own fault, I don't know, as I had switched on the autoload feature there as well.  That autoload is now permanently turned off.

So, now I have an unasked-for one-day-pass sitting "in queue" on my card, ready to spring into action the next time I swipe in.  So, I've stopped using my registered card, until I get to a day when a one-day-pass will make sense with a lot of errands to run.  I bought an unregistered card from the vending machine and am using that for now, loading with cash, so Ventra can't connect the new card to me and drop the pass on that card as well.  In two months, I'll register that card to recoup my $5 card price, throw the card away and probably repeat the process.

Glad Ventra makes things so much easier than my Chicago Card Plus, which autoloaded sensibly and rarely needed looking at....

Cameron 7.5 mi said:

That's why they had to charge you double for rides where they actually read your card.
Permalink Reply by Thunder Snow on November 6, 2013 at 10:08am


Yep.

Token & paper transfers, from a simpler time.  Unless you let your transfer get soggy in the rain...


Fran Kondorf said:

Kind of makes you miss tokens, doesn't it?

Permalink Reply by Fran Kondorf on November 6, 2013 at 10:15am

To the tune of $454M leaving Illinois, no less.



Cameron 7.5 mi said:

Or the Chicago Card.

We had a perfectly functional electronic fare payment system. Most major cities also have perfectly functional electronic fare systems. Why invent something new that does exactly the same thing as existing systems and roll it out an a massive scale with no testing.

 

Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on November 7, 2013 at 10:34am

Nice Peter has to write a song about Ventra like he did for the Red Line (note some words not nsfw or kid friendly).

 

 

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