CHICAGO - Officials with the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) admitted today that problems with their new Ventra fare system have cost taxpayers $1.2 million in free rides.
The CTA says it will pursue reimbursement from Ventra's vendor, Cubic Transportation Systems Inc., which indicated it will reimburse" the CTA.
The estimate covers the time period from Oct. 1 to Dec. 19. The CTA says more than 900,000 bus rides and 21,000 rail rides were free "because Ventra fare readers were not functioning correctly."
Not unlike government officials pronouncements about the Obamacare website, CTA officials say Ventra is doing better. They say performance has improved as it continues to monitor the new system.
