Ventra App Glitches Continue To Plague Metra Riders After Fare Changes

CHICAGO — Problems with the Ventra ticketing application continue to derail efforts by Metra passengers to purchase and access tickets for the commuter rail service.

The issues began Thursday, coinciding with the introduction of a new Metra fare map, ticket pricing structure and the closure of its remaining ticket windows.

"Riders unable to make purchases will be accommodated by transit personnel on buses, at rail stations and on the trains," Ventra representatives announced Friday. "We apologize for the ongoing inconvenience."

On Sunday, Metra officials said the company contracted to operate the app, the San Diego-based Cubic Corporation, had assured them that it would be ready for the Monday morning commute.

"Metra's mobile app vendor has worked diligently through the weekend to correct the issues from last week," the statement said. "At this point, the vendor is confident the app will perform as intended, in advance of tomorrow's morning rush-hour."

Despite Cubic's efforts to stop the app from crashing and allow the railway to collect money from passengers, including a major software update over the weekend, the disruptions were back Monday morning.

The Ventra app's dysfunction has also affected riders who use it to buy tickets for the CTA and Pace.

"The Ventra app is not functioning as intended, and customers trying to make purchases and even possibly launching tickets may experience issues," according to an alert.

Metra officials said any pending charges should be dismissed by passengers' banks before they are posted to their accounts.

"If a charge is posted but no ticket is populated, then contact Passenger Services at 312-MY-METRA (696-3872)," officials said in a Monday morning post. "Conductors will accommodate riders onboard."

The new fare and zone system that took effect on Thursday replaces the old 10-zone with four zones. The first two cover Chicago and its inner ring suburbs, while the third and fourth zone cover the outer ring suburbs.

The railway also stopped offering its $100 systemwide monthly pass, replacing it with a zone-based pass. January monthly passes are valid until Monday at 5 p.m. February monthly passes first went on sale on Thursday.

It could not be immediately determined how much revenue Metra lost as a result of the failure of the Cubic-designed app.

Fares only cover about a quarter of Metra's operating costs. Though the new fare structure was projected to generate slightly more revenue, Metra officials projected they would fall short of a pre-pandemic requirement for fares to cover at least half of expenses. State lawmakers have created a commission to recommend funding solutions before the end of the federal aid on which Metra relies to balance its budget — a $730 million so-called "fiscal cliff."

Related: Free Rides On Metra After Ventra App Crashes On Rollout