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Credits for Transit Passes During Pandemic

Posted by BusMgr on Wed Apr 1 00:48:10 2020

The Chicago Transit Authority is providing credits for portions of transit passes going unused during the coronavirus crisis. The Ventra website states:

Ventra Updates for COVID-19

To support public safety and social distancing practices in response to COVID-19, CTA will be offering a one-time credit for any remaining days left on an active 7- or 30-day pass, based on when the pass was last used.

Am I eligible?

Customers with an active 7- or 30-day pass are eligible to receive a prorated credit for any remaining days, based on when the pass was last used.

For example, a 7-day pass that was activated on March 15 and used only that day would be eligible for a prorated refund reflecting six unused days. Prorated credits will be issued as Transit Value that is added to the cardholder’s Ventra account, which can be used to purchase passes and pay for future trips.

On the other hand, the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority is denying credits for portions of transit passes going unused during the coronavirus crisis. The MTA website states:

About MetroCard refunds and transactions

* * *

We encourage and appreciate your effort to stop the spread of the virus. That said, we do not provide refunds for MetroCards while the transit system continues to operate. Here's more information about remaining time or value on your MetroCard.

Unlimited-Ride MetroCards

If you haven’t started using your Unlimited-Ride MetroCard, you can hang on to it and start using it anytime until the expiration date on the back of the card.

If you started using your Unlimited-Ride MetroCard, unfortunately we cannot pause it once it’s been activated.

The obvious question is why the New York MTA does not have the same capacity as the Chicago CTA in being able to provide credits to its passengers unable to use their farecards on account of the governor's stay-at-home order. Why does the Chicago CTA have the technology to implement refunds, but the New York MTA apparently does not have the same technology?

Or might it be that the New York MTA does, in fact, have the technology to do so, but this is a case where State of New York is actubg disingenuously? That is, the state is, on the one hand, selling transit farecards to gain revenue through its MTA, and on the other hand, the state is prohibiting the beneficial use of such farecards through its governor?

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Re: Credits for Transit Passes During Pandemic

Posted by Henry R32 #3730 on Wed Apr 1 04:07:33 2020, in response to Credits for Transit Passes During Pandemic, posted by BusMgr on Wed Apr 1 00:48:10 2020.

They can't "pause" the card but I think they can extend their expiration. Didn't they do that regarding a transit strike or weather event sometime in the past 2 decades or am I imagining that?

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