Continued improvement on CTA buses following completion of reader upgrade; Nearly 3 of every 4 rides taken with Ventra
The Chicago Transit Authority today reported continued improvement in how Ventra readers work on CTA buses, following the completion of a fleet-wide software upgrade by Cubic Transportation Systems. The improvements on buses, completed in early December, have led to faster, more reliable boarding for CTA customers and nearly eliminated instances of card “tap” delays that led to transaction denial or a second charge from double-tapping related to delays.
The CTA’s fourth weekly Ventra progress report shows:
- Ventra readers on buses processed 99.95 percent of 9.9 million transactions under 2.5 seconds, with an average speed of 0.99 seconds. That performance is consistent throughout the day.
- Ventra readers at rail stations continue to perform well, with average tap times for rail turnstiles of just 0.56 seconds; 99.92 percent of 11.9 million transactions were less than 2.5 seconds. That performance is consistent throughout the day.
- Average customer service call center hold times have remained below 5 minutes consistently since mid-November.
- 73 percent of CTA rides are via Ventra.
- Total taps, or boardings, with Ventra have exceeded 56 million since the system was launched in late summer.
While many performance standards are currently being met, there is more progress to be made and CTA will continue to monitor Cubic’s performance closely.
Full report here (PDF)