CTA Announces Abrupt Ventra Change Amid Massive Backlash

CTA Makes A Big Ventra Change Amid Backlash

As CTA customers continue to struggle with registering their Ventra cards -- and encountering lengthy (half hour-plus) wait times on the new fare payment system's customer service line -- the agency announced a big about-face on Wednesday.

According to the Chicago Tribune, the CTA is reinstating new sales of the flimsy magnetic stripe transit cards at rail stations and is also allowing Chicago Card customers to add value to their cards again -- two options for paying to ride the CTA that had been eliminated on Monday.

The CTA will not eliminate the options again for "several weeks" -- by which point Ventra is expected to have tripled the number of operators at its customer service call centers, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

The agency is still, however, sticking with its Dec. 15 deadline -- when no forms of payment tied to the previous system will be accepted.

Meanwhile, Twitter is continuing to have more than a bit of fun with Ventra. The @ChicagoVentra account has been rolling out more than a few zingers, in particular. Below are a few of our favorites:

These tweets are almost as funny as Ventra's own #CommuterClues, a hash tag of strange transit tips Ventra stopped using once the Twittersphere hijacked it with some "tips" of their own.

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