Emanuel Defends Ventra Rollout Amongst Questions of Overcharges

By Jon Graef in News on Nov 10, 2013 8:30PM

Of course Mayor Emanuel would get a kick out of Google Glass. (Photo credit: City of Chicago/Brooke Collins)

Just as his former boss, President Barack Obama, has faced scrutiny over the rollout of his Affordable Care Act, so does his former chief-of-staff and current Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel face criticism over the rollout of Ventra, everyone's favorite open fare program.

Earlier this week, though, Mayor Emanuel defended the rollout of Ventra, while also saying that the program is "not working the way it needs to work." (Or, as it's put in laymen's terms, "at all.")

Tribune reporter John Byrne wrote that Mayor Emanuel defended CTA President Forrest Claypool, saying that Claypool was holding Cubic Transportation Systems, Inc., the company behind Ventra, accountable.

Byrne has more:

The comments came the day after CTA President Forrest Claypool and an executive from California-based Cubic Transportation Systems Inc. told business leaders they couldn't say when Ventra cards will begin functioning properly. Emanuel said Cubic won't get paid until the system works smoothly...

Claypool [said] the CTA won't start paying the $454 million contract until three conditions are met: Wait times on Ventra's customer hotline are under five minutes to speak with an operator; Ventra fare readers on buses and at rail turnstiles process transactions in 2.5 seconds or less 99 percent of the time; and 99 percent of Ventra equipment is functioning.

Byrne also reports that the head of North American operations for Cubic said he "can't give you really a best guess" as to when the Ventra cards would actually work. Super duper!

Meanwhile, NBC Chicago's Ward Room column raises questions as to how Ventra will handle the money that it collects in error. That is, what's Ventra doing about overcharges?

With reports growing daily that the CTA is experiencing problems with the Ventra rollout, more and more customers are reporting that they are being double or triple charged, charged fees they didn't expect or discovering that Ventra places a $5 hold on an account while certain transactions clear. The whole thing needs to be sorted out. ... [n]o one really knows how many problems there are, or how much money is being collected in error. ...

Is the money collected in error as part of the Ventra program unregulated? Or did the CTA place safeguards into the agreement to ensure no private entity could profit from the problems of everyday Chicagoans who use the system?

Good questions. Only time -- and maybe a hearing or two -- will reveal the answers.