pudgym29 Posted January 24 Report Share Posted January 24 Will Metra's new pricing scheme work efficiently? How about testing it yourself? On Thursday, 1 February 2024, radio station WDRV-FM is having one of its "Travelling Thirsty Thursday" events from 5:00 - 7:00 pm at Crystal Lake Brwg. You could win concert tickets. Drive Nation Lager is a reasonable facsimile of Miller High Life with a little more body and flavor. It will be on special price ($4.00). Ride the Union Pacific Northwest Line from Jefferson Park to Crystal Lake. Train #637 leaves Jefferson Park @ 4:01 pm and arrives Crystal Lake @ 5:05 pm. Board a car closer to the engine. When exiting cross the tracks and walk northwest to the next side street. One block north, you'll glimpse the edifice. There are two other bars I can recommend in Crystal Lake: Matt's Tavern, and Goal Line. Trains back to Chicago are @ 7:15, 7:45, 8:45, 9:45, and 11:45 pm. Since there is not yet a TVM at Jefferson Park, you will have to pay on the train, and you will have to pay cash. Query the intrepid conductor why this high-traffic station does not have the TVM despite sufficient space on the passage from the bus terminus to the "L" station. There is also not yet a TVM @ Crystal Lake, so ensure you hang on to some cash afterward. I would go there, but I have a prior appointment for that Thursday. If you go, please let us know how it went. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted January 24 Report Share Posted January 24 2 hours ago, pudgym29 said: Since there is not yet a TVM at Jefferson Park, you will have to pay on the train, and you will have to pay cash. Query the intrepid conductor why this high-traffic station does not have the TVM despite sufficient space on the passage from the bus terminus to the "L" station. Since you had your rant about smart phones, that's what you'll have to do so long as Metra accepts cash. No 10-ride tickets for you. Others can use theirs. Why query/ask/bother the conductor about anything? The conductor does not set policy; the Board of Directors of the Commuter Rail Division of the RTA does. Send them a verbose public comment before the next meeting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted February 1 Report Share Posted February 1 Sun-Times: Ventra App crashed; show conductor your frozen screen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strictures Posted February 2 Report Share Posted February 2 Email from Metra at 6:55 AM Today, Friday: "The Ventra app is not functioning as intended, and customers trying to make purchases and even possibly launching tickets may have issues. We are working with our vendor to restore functionality." It looks like Metra & Ventra had no idea how many would need to use it with Metra's new idiotic abandonment of 10 ride tickets! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strictures Posted February 4 Report Share Posted February 4 New Metra email on Sunday at 1:00 PM: "Metra's mobile app vendor has worked diligently through the weekend to correct the issues from last week. At this point, the vendor is confident the app will perform as intended, in advance of tomorrow's morning rush-hour." We'll see about that! Cubic really screwed up this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted February 4 Report Share Posted February 4 25 minutes ago, strictures said: Cubic really screwed up this! From other reports (i.e., ABC7), CTA and Pace were also affected, and (like when Ventra was first launched) Cubic would be on the hook for lost fares. But this may partially on Metra's back, as I don't see why it couldn't start selling monthlies at the new rate in advance before Feb. 1, but it's too late to do anything about that now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strictures Posted February 5 Report Share Posted February 5 16 hours ago, Busjack said: From other reports (i.e., ABC7), CTA and Pace were also affected, and (like when Ventra was first launched) Cubic would be on the hook for lost fares. But this may partially on Metra's back, as I don't see why it couldn't start selling monthlies at the new rate in advance before Feb. 1, but it's too late to do anything about that now. WBBM-TV had a report last night that Metra says Cubic worked all weekend on the problem & they're sure it's fixed. I have to ride Metra today, so I'll find out, maybe the hard way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strictures Posted February 5 Report Share Posted February 5 I was correct, I just got a Metra email at 7:11 Am today that reads: "The Ventra app is not functioning as intended, and customers trying to make purchases and even possibly launching tickets may experience issues. We are working with our vendor to restore functionality. Updates will be provided." So all of Cubic's work over the weekend was a failure. I sure hope they force Cubis to pay for all the lost fares! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strictures Posted February 5 Report Share Posted February 5 8 hours ago, strictures said: I was correct, I just got a Metra email at 7:11 Am today that reads: "The Ventra app is not functioning as intended, and customers trying to make purchases and even possibly launching tickets may experience issues. We are working with our vendor to restore functionality. Updates will be provided." So all of Cubic's work over the weekend was a failure. I sure hope they force Cubic to pay for all the lost fares! 3:12 PM Update from Metra via email: "The Ventra app is continuing to have problems. Customers trying to make purchases and even possibly launching tickets may experience issues. We are working with our vendor to restore functionality. Updates will be provided." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted March 18 Report Share Posted March 18 On 1/24/2024 at 2:21 PM, pudgym29 said: Will Metra's new pricing scheme work efficiently? Metra's Feb. ridership report says 81% used the Ventra app and TVMs for 10% of the rides. If @pudgym29 rode (looks like he didn't), he would have been among at most 9%. There are also adjustments based on the Ventra app outage. It also says: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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