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Your Community, Your News
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MARCH 20, 2014
Vol. 58 No. 24
traNsPortatioN
CTA and Pace will complete Ventra transition July 1
Originally, full implementation of Ventra across Chicagoland was set for last December
By Alex V. Hernandez Staff Reporter
>> See the full story on page 5
PHOTOS BY ALEX V. HERNANDEZ/STAFF REPORTER
Touhy Avenue Railroad viaduct.
CTA and Pace say Ventra will be the only way to pay for their buses and trains after July 1. âFor the last three months, Ventra has performed well overall, and is used by more than 1 million riders each day,â said CTA President Forrest Claypool in a March 14 statement. âWe have worked closely with our vendor, [Cubic Tr a n s p o r t a t i o n Systems], to increase the reliability and convenience of the system.â forrest claypool Originally the full cTa presidenT implementation of Ventra across Chicagoland was set for last December.This timeline was scrapped when riders complained of widespread glitches and poor customer-care service after Ventra was rolled out last August. This led to Claypool announcing a new opened-ended deadline in adopting the new system while Cubic, the vendor providing automated fare collection equipment and services for Ventra, worked out the kinks. One kink last from last November resulted in around 15,000 commuters using Ventra to get free rides thanks to malfunctioning Ventra card readers at 60 CTA rail stations. >> see transition | page 2