Weeks after the Ventra ticketing app crashed just as Metra rolled out new fares, the company behind the app said the failure was tied to a lack of appropriate testing before the Metra changes took place.
Metra board members blasted the company, Cubic, on Wednesday, saying the app failures were a disappointment and a hit to the rail agency’s reputation, especially as Metra is continuing to try to draw back riders from pandemic lows. Board member Rodney Craig went so far as to call for exploring new options for a ticketing app.
“It’s an embarrassment,” board member Stephen Palmer told representatives of Cubic. “It’s an embarrassment to Metra. Your explanation makes sense, but it doesn’t make it any less embarrassing and I would have thought more from your company.”
The Ventra app experienced widespread failures beginning Feb. 1, the day Metra rolled out new fares and closed its remaining ticket windows, and the glitches lingered in the following days. The app slowed and stopped working, preventing riders from purchasing tickets. Board members said Wednesday some riders were charged multiple times as they tried, unsuccessfully, to buy tickets, but Cubic representatives said some of those duplicate charges were pending and should be dropped by customers’ banks.
Metra said at the time it was allowing passengers to ride free if they couldn’t purchase a ticket. The agency expects to be reimbursed from Cubic for lost fares, but Executive Director Jim Derwinski said he could not yet estimate the amount Metra would get back.
The glitches frustrated and confused riders who were adjusting to a new, simplified fare structure and new ways of purchasing tickets. Closing ticket windows meant one fewer option for passengers to buy tickets, which can now be purchased through vending machines, train conductors or Ventra. Monthly passes, which usually go on sale before the start of the month, also were not available until Feb. 1 as the changes were put in place.
The Ventra app makes up about 80% of Metra ticket sales, Cubic representatives said.
The app failed because Cubic didn’t conduct appropriate testing before the fare changes took place, said Matt Newsome, a senior vice president and general manager at Cubic. The company had been working on the changes since April 2023 and tested the app beforehand, but the load testing of the app wasn’t set up properly and didn’t reveal the problems that would ultimately arise as an influx of passengers tried to log in and buy passes and tickets, he said.
Though the new fares are simpler for riders, they are more complex for the app and involve the transfer of more data, Newsome said.
“The recent issue in the Ventra app was entirely a Cubic issue and we regret deeply and apologize wholeheartedly for those who were affected,” he said.
The CTA and Pace also use Ventra to sell tickets, but more tickets are purchased outside the app and they weren’t affected as significantly by the crash, Newsome said.
Cubic has created a team to address emergencies and is collecting data, and staff are reviewing lines of code in the app to see where they can improve performance, Newsome said. The company has also adjusted the type of testing that will be conducted before new updates to the app.
Passengers who have faced payment issues can call Ventra customer service for help, he said.
But the issues left Metra riders frustrated. The agency displayed a selection of comments it received as Ventra crashed, including, “Metra, you are the biggest losers,” “Metra hurry up and fix your (expletive) app!” and “Metra clowns.”
Wednesday, agency officials showed their frustration with Cubic.
“There was a lot of anticipation and work that went into Feb. 1, and we were let down,” Derwinski said.
Board Chair Romayne Brown said she hoped Cubic would stay true to its assurances that the company would not let a similar Ventra crash take place, and it was on Metra to hold Cubic to their word.
Don Orseno, another board member, said the failure was a setback as Metra has tried to draw back ridership, which in January was about 54% of pre-pandemic weekday levels.
“You let us down,” he said. “Really let us down.”
Board member Craig, who is also the mayor of Hanover Park, suggested Metra should begin looking at other companies to manage app-based ticketing. The technology seems out of date, and because the Feb. 1 crash was so large he expects something similar to happen again.
“This happens again, shame on us,” he said. “I can’t live with that.”