Chicago: Ventra boss 'can't guess' when new fare system will work

By Jon Hilkevitch
Tribune reporter
7:15 a.m. CST, November 6, 2013


The top corporate official representing the publicly maligned Ventra fare-collection system traveled to Chicago on Tuesday to apologize for “unacceptable’’ technical and customer service problems that have cost CTA riders time and money.

He also offered that his company was caught flat-footed because it failed to anticipate how quickly commuters would switch from old fare cards to Ventra.

But Richard Wunderle, who heads North American operations for California-based Cubic Transportation Systems, Inc., couldn’t answer the $454 million question (the price of the Ventra contract): When will Ventra function properly?

“I can’t give you really a best guess. We’re analyzing the data,’’ Wunderle told reporters after CTA President Forrest Claypool brought the Cubic boss to the City Club of Chicago to take some of the heat. ........................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-cta-chief-ventra-developer-must-correct-poor-customer-experiences-20131105,0,5581296.story