with the concerns & questions with the RTA, CTA, PACE Ventra fare cards, wanted to share this recent issue with reduced fare cards ...
by Jon Yates, Chicago Tribune - What's Your Problem? | May 20, 2014
Disabled rider's attempt to transfer funds to Ventra goes off tracks
Brian Dolk just wants to transfer the $16.80 balance he has with CTA to his new Ventra card. It's been harder than he thought.
by Jon Yates, Chicago Tribune - What's Your Problem? | May 20, 2014
There isn't a ton of money on Brian Dolk's old Regional Transit Authority reduced-fare permit, but getting the funds transferred to his new Ventra card has caused him tons of aggravation.
Dolk, who is disabled with a lower back disorder, has about $4.80 on the card, plus $12 on a soon-to-expire Chicago Card.
The former Lakeview resident said he went to the Chicago Transit Authority's headquarters in December to get the balances transferred but was told he could not do it there. A representative advised Dolk to attend one of Ventra's "transfer events" held throughout the city, at which transit workers would manually transfer old balances, he said.
Dolk said he argued attending such an event would not be cost-effective. To get there, he'd have to pay for round-trip bus or train rides, plus spend several hours out of his day.
Although Ventra's website says riders will eventually be able to transfer old balances through a mail-in program, Dolk said the program has not yet been set up. The slow rollout of the mail-in program puts Dolk in a bind, he said.
Starting June 1, riders will no longer be able to use their Chicago Cards, and after June 30, riders won't be able to use their old magnetic stripe cards.
Dolk recently moved out of state and uses CTA trains and buses only sparingly now, when he returns to the Chicago area for doctor's visits.
He said he was concerned that if the mail-in balance transfer program didn't happen soon, he would lose the $16.80 he had stored on his expiring cards.
In mid-May, he called Ventra and asked about the mail-in program.
"When I asked what would happen if I did not transfer the value from the old reduced-fare permit card to the new Ventra reduced-fare permit card, I was told I would lose all the money on the old one," Dolk said. "I explained that attending a transfer event in person is not feasible. … In 2014, it is hard to believe that government and a company would be allowed to do this under the Americans with Disabilities Act."
Frustrated, Dolk emailed "What's Your Problem?"
He said he didn't understand why Ventra hasn't set up its mail-in balance transfer program yet and is concerned it won't happen before his funds expire.
"It isn't so much the dollar amount," he said. "Obviously I don't want to lose any money but there have to be a lot of other people in similar predicaments who are having this issue."
Dolk said that if the mail-in program isn't up and running soon, Ventra should extend it beyond July 1.
"What I am afraid will happen is that others, similar to myself, will be out money and that Ventra and the CTA/RTA will reap a windfall at the expense of seniors, the disabled and the infirmed," he said. "Given that this segment of the population is less likely to be able to afford forgoing any funds, the CTA/RTA and Ventra should be making it easier, not more difficult."
The Problem Solver called both the RTA and the CTA.
CTA spokeswoman Lambrini Lukidis said the mail-in transfer program is "coming soon," but she did not have a date for when it will begin.
Lukidis said the mail-in program will extend beyond July 1, so Dolk and others will not lose their old balances.
"We'll still be transferring balances after the first of July," she said. "He won't be out this money."
Dolk said Lukidis called him Friday afternoon and explained the process.
He said the spokeswoman promised CTA would contact him after the mail-in program launches.
Dolk is cautiously optimistic.
"It sounds like they're still working on trying to implement this," he said. "Nothing on this rollout's gone smoothly, so I'll believe it when I see it."
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/problemsolver/ct-ventra-balance-transfer-problem-0520-biz-20140520,0,1231829.column
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