Reduced fare pass fraud

[Busjack]

Various stories, such as this in the RedEye, about CTA cracking down on unauthorized use of passes.

The question is: If somebody is using pass back, or more importantly, if someone is selling rides for a dollar and repeatedly tapping a pass, shouldn't the Customer Assistant or CTA Security see that? Is it that necessary to go to the camera?

[garmon757]

Various stories, such as this in the RedEye, about CTA cracking down on unauthorized use of passes.

The question is: If somebody is using pass back, or more importantly, if someone is selling rides for a dollar and repeatedly tapping a pass, shouldn't the Customer Assistant or CTA Security see that? Is it that necessary to go to the camera?

I've been awfully seeing that a lot at 69th and 79th and the best of my knowledge saying that Cta personnel and police haven't done a damn thing about it.

[BusHunter]

I've been awfully seeing that a lot at 69th and 79th and the best of my knowledge saying that Cta personnel and police haven't done a damn thing about it.

Yeah but don't the turnstiles give you the invalid stop sign? They won't let you repeat the use of a pass for 12-15 minutes.

Now I see what they mean, people are trading passes among others. Maybe they should incorporate into the Ventra card a chip that stores that person's likeness and when they swipe the picture comes up on the go screen. But they would have to have someone physically watch the screens for turnstiles which they could install in the CA booth.

[strictures]

I wonder if the computer flagged my pass?

On Open House Chicago weekend, Oct 18-19, i must have ridden over 25 buses & several L trains those two days.

[Busjack]

Yeah but don't the turnstiles give you the invalid stop sign? They won't let you repeat the use of a pass for 12-15 minutes.

Now I see what they mean, people are trading passes among others. Maybe they should incorporate into the Ventra card a chip that stores that person's likeness and when they swipe the picture comes up on the go screen. But they would have to have someone physically watch the screens for turnstiles which they could install in the CA booth.

I wonder if the computer flagged my pass?

On Open House Chicago weekend, Oct 18-19, i must have ridden over 25 buses & several L trains those two days.

The issue is the free fare and reduced fare cards, and apparently all of them have a picture on it. There doesn't seem to be any complaint about regular Ventra cards, although I suppose there could be a complaint about excessive pass backs on a pass, but the 15 minute time out would seem to eliminate that..

When I go to the fitness center, a picture of the card shows up on the computer monitor, so staff can see that I match the card and am in their database. So, it could be done, but CTA seems to have more than one person entering every couple of minutes. And if the CA isn't checking that someone is using a free pass to admit people off the street, I doubt they will be monitoring a monitor.

[Juniorz]

Point Blank Period: CA's aren't checking for fraudulent activities at the turnstiles. As long as your not a disturbance to the CA they will just sit there and let the time go pass. They may get up and scope the scene once in a blue moon but that's all. My question is why is this becoming a big issue now with the Ventra cards when It was a continuous issue with the magnetic strip fare cards

[Busjack]

... My question is why is this becoming a big issue now with the Ventra cards when It was a continuous issue with the magnetic strip fare cards

The answer is that since all the free and half fare passes are registered, they were able to go to the database once the financial report indicated unusual growth in those categories of boardings. The mag cards basically only had encoded on them that there was so much money and transfers left on them. For instance, the Ventra records would reflect that Amanda J. SeniorY went through the turnstile at 69-Red Line at 2:05, 2:07, 2:08. etc.

Update: Based on my above analysis, I wonder why the police are just confiscating cards, instead of CTA cancelling them, if Amanda's account looks like this. Maybe they need proof that the face does not match the card.

[jajuan]

But didn't CA's used to have to use an override mag card to bypass the turnstiles automatically looking to detect a full fare card, or was that only true of student reduced fare mag stripe media?

[nflyer22]

But didn't CA's used to have to use an override mag card to bypass the turnstiles automatically looking to detect a full fare card, or was that only true of student reduced fare mag stripe media?

Only the orange reduced fare mag-stripe had that limitation back in the day. When I had the student reduced-fare mag-stripe permit (which changed color from year to year) it did not have that limitation.

[busfan2847]

Yeah but don't the turnstiles give you the invalid stop sign? They won't let you repeat the use of a pass for 12-15 minutes.

Now I see what they mean, people are trading passes among others. Maybe they should incorporate into the Ventra card a chip that stores that person's likeness and when they swipe the picture comes up on the go screen. But they would have to have someone physically watch the screens for turnstiles which they could install in the CA booth.

I do not believe that Ventra cards have the 12-15 minute limit on use on same service.