Has Ventra made Chicago unlivable without a car? (Clinton: to buy, zip code)

[prairiestate]

Well, my card just stopped working for no reason, and there are ton of complaints about that problem on Yelp and elsewhere online. I had to pay $5 for a new card, even though it was defective. If I had a pass, I would have been unable to use it until my new card arrived in the mail, or until I went to the Ventra office in person.

It hardly seens like all the bugs have been worked out. You still don't get a credit for a defective card, you can't transfer a balance between cards on line, and the customer service over the phone is poor.

[MSchemist80]

I used it for a week to get to Mccormick place for a convention last spring and it worked fine for me even with multiple transfers.
If for some reason it doesn't work I understand you can use most credit cards and tap them as long as they have the chip with the wave symbol on it though no transferring you have to pay full fare each tap.

[buccsmf1]

I don't own a car. Commute every day on the L, use it extensively on the weekends. I have had absolutely zero problems with it. It's worked 100% of the time, L or bus.

[Swandaddy]

The one nice thing about Ventra is NOT having to go to a Walgreens or a currency exchange to buy a transit pass. So, at first I was very skeptical about Ventra, but now I'm like OK that was fine; but *****please CTA***** fix the other problems like slow zones, inconsistent trains, and dirty trains. Thank you.

[Chicago60614]

It was a mess a year ago when it rolled out.

I use it every single day, have been since last November, and have never once had any problems. Basically all my friends rely on public transit and they haven't had any problems with it at all, we brought it up once a few months ago.

You must have REALLY bad luck, because for 99% of people it seems to be working perfectly fine and something they never really even think about.

I can't imagine someone not coming into the city just because of Ventra. The problems were fixed 9 months ago.

If you stop and follow the directions you never have to pay that $5 for the card.

[BleedCubbieBlue]

I use Ventra every day and I have not had any major problems. From setting up the card initially to my every day use, it's been smooth sailing for me. Sometimes i have to tap more than once for it to work on buses, but that is not a major problem that i would feel inclined to complain to anyone about.

[PerseusVeil]

Originally Posted by BleedCubbieBlue

I use Ventra every day and I have not had any major problems. From setting up the card initially to my every day use, it's been smooth sailing for me. Sometimes i have to tap more than once for it to work on buses, but that is not a major problem that i would feel inclined to complain to anyone about.

This is the closest I've come to having a problem as well.

Even when it rolled out, and the bus drivers knew that the system wasn't working, they were just waving people through, so I didn't really have a problem back then either.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by prairiestate

Ventra cards are prone to stop working without notice, and customer service is nonexistent. So, if your card goes out, you'll be delayed significantly if you need to find exact change for the bus. You're out $5 for a replacement card, even though Ventra is at fault. If you have a pass on your card, you won't be able to use it for one to two weeks while waiting for a new card to arrive, and you won't be getting a refund.

I used to love spending weekends traveling around the city, and now I dread it because I don't know when my Ventra card will stop working again. Has the Ventra nightmare got anyone thinking it's time to buy a car?

Almost nothing you've written is true.

Yes, ANY RFID/NFC card could 'stop working without notice,' but nothing else you've written is correct.

You can get a Ventra card at any train station and several other places. The $5 you spend at the station is refundable if you register that card online. If you register that card online with your existing account (which I assume you have if you have a pass), you can also merge dollar amounts or passes from your broken or lost card to the new card more or less immediately. I've done this for lost cards (admittedly I don't remember if you can do the transfer online or if you need to call them, but I know I've done this because my partner loses cards ALL. THE. TIME.).

There's really no reason to wait 2-3 weeks for a card to be sent via mail, nor to eat the $5 charge. If you're in the city enough to have a pass, then you're in the city enough to get a replacement card at a train station. If you have a smartphone you can register it and transfer the pass to the new card while you're still in the station.

The ONLY reason I can think of to wait 2-3 weeks for a card is if you really like having your name on the card instead of just a generic card.

[PerseusVeil]

Originally Posted by emathias

The ONLY reason I can think of to wait 2-3 weeks for a card is if you really like having your name on the card instead of just a generic card.

Or if you have a u-pass from one of the local universities' undergrad or graduate programs. Those things cost $50 to replace, but students replace them because it's the only way to get the semester long pass back.

Granted, I don't think the OP is in said predicament.

[prairiestate]

Originally Posted by emathias

Almost nothing you've written is true.

Yes, ANY RFID/NFC card could 'stop working without notice,' but nothing else you've written is correct.

You can get a Ventra card at any train station and several other places. The $5 you spend at the station is refundable if you register that card online. If you register that card online with your existing account (which I assume you have if you have a pass), you can also merge dollar amounts or passes from your broken or lost card to the new card more or less immediately. I've done this for lost cards (admittedly I don't remember if you can do the transfer online or if you need to call them, but I know I've done this because my partner loses cards ALL. THE. TIME.).

There's really no reason to wait 2-3 weeks for a card to be sent via mail, nor to eat the $5 charge. If you're in the city enough to have a pass, then you're in the city enough to get a replacement card at a train station. If you have a smartphone you can register it and transfer the pass to the new card while you're still in the station.

The ONLY reason I can think of to wait 2-3 weeks for a card is if you really like having your name on the card instead of just a generic card.

After my card stopped working, I got a replacement at a retailer, which, in late June, was free. I thought I could transfer a balance online, but could not find any way to do so.

I called Ventra. I was told you could not transfer a balance online. I was told you could not transfer a balance over the phone. I was given two options to transfer a balance. I could go to the Ventra office in person or I could report a defective card online. With the latter option, a new card would be mailed and the balance transferred.

Reporting a defective or lost card online has a $5 charge for the replacement. This fee for a replacement card is not given back to you as a credit for transit like with a new card.

There are hundreds of comments on Yelp, Google and the Ventra Facebook page about this same issue, cards that stop working and the difficulty of getting a replacement card with your cash balance or pass transferred.

If your partner has figured out the secret to transferring a balance or pass to a brand new card purchased from a vending machine, please get the details and let us know how to do it.