Ventra,the Chicago Transit Authority’s long-awaited new payment system, fully launched earlier this month. The contactless cards allow commuters to manage El and bus funds online, and the tap-and-go method seems to be working: CTA spokeswoman Tammy Chase said the transit agency had logged more than 5 million Ventra taps by the end of the weekend.
“Of all the people that board a train or a bus, 20 percent are using Ventra,” Chase said Monday. “And that number continues to grow.”
Northwestern students hoping to commute to Chicago will have to master the new system: the credit card express machine at the Davis Street stop is gone, and the CTA will remove all old fare card stations by Nov. 15. To make the transition smoother, The Daily breaks down everything you need to know about Ventra:
What is Ventra?
Students hailing from Washington, D.C., should think of the Metro’s SmarTrip card. Like SmarTrip, travelers manage Ventra online and go through train turnstiles by touching the card to a scanner rather than swiping it. West Coast residents may be familiar with the Los Angeles Metro’s Transit Access Pass, which completely replaced paper cards last year.
Ventra frees customers from having to purchase cards and add value at transit stations. Instead, they can manage their funds online or by phone. Users can link their existing debit cards to Ventra and pay as they go or upload a specific amount to be deducted from with each tap.
But Ventra is more than a transit pass — it can act as a separate MasterCard. Travelers may choose to open a prepaid debit account and use their cards to buy just about anything.
Chase called the fees associated with this account “competitively low.”
“You can use that as you would any other bank card in your wallet,” she said. “Some people don’t want to mess with a credit card … and they do want something you can pay as you go.”
Commuters who don’t want to bother buying Ventra cards can tap any of their credit or debit cards at the machines — as long as they use contactless technology.
How do I get Ventra?
Order a Ventra card for free online, and it will be mailed to your home or dorm. If you want more immediate service, buy one for $5 from a Ventra vending machine at a CTA station. Once you register your account online, the $5 will go back toward your fare. Customers must load a minimum of $5 to cards online and via phone, but that figure drops to 5 cents when using cash and $1 with credit or debit cards at a station, according to the CTA.
Some retailers also sell Ventra cards. Evanston’s options include City Newsstand, 860 Chicago Ave.; CVS, 1711 Sherman Ave.; and Davis Pantry, 927 Davis St.
Does NU participate in Ventra?
Select students once given CTA U-Passes will now receive similar Ventra cards. Full-time students in The Graduate School start using the new cards — which will not need to be reissued each quarter — this fall, according to the University. School of Law students were among the first customers to test out Ventra when they received the cards in early August. Medill graduate students should get their Ventra cards “any day now,” said Kristen Reid Salomon, assistant director of student life at Medill.
(Northwestern Law students offered head start on new CTA payment system)
Undergrads will have to wait: Medill students enrolled in Enterprise Reporting in Diverse Communities are once again using 1-day passes for Fall Quarter. However, starting in the winter those classes are expected to receive Ventra cards, said Desiree Hanford, acting director of undergraduate journalism.
“CTA told us that those passes would be fine through the quarter, and then those Ventra cards go fully into effect after the quarter ends,” Hanford said.
Are there any drawbacks?
With the introduction of Ventra, the price of paper single-ride El tickets jumps to $3. Yet CTA fare is not technically rising — a one-way trip still costs the usual $2.25 if you use a reloadable Ventra card.
When Chicago-area elementary, high school and college students first received Ventra cards in late August, some reported that the system did not allow them to properly load money. But Chase said CTA has dealt with those problems, noting it’s common for money not to post right away to any type of debit card.
“Sometimes there was a bit of a lag,” Chase said. “We did have some issues. We’ve resolved them.”
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