The State of Chicago News Media 2009
DePaul vs. CTA
DePaul students woke up and started their day as normal Wednesday morning. When they finally went to ride the CTA, they were stopped and told that they were using a stolen U-Pass. This did not happen for one or two DePaul students, but for approximately 15,000 students. When a U-Pass is stolen or lost, a fraud alert or "code 57" is placed on the U-Pass.
I understand this code being attached to the pass in order to stop others from illegally using cards lost by students. My question is this: why would a CTA employee accuse a student of stealing a pass that clearly has their photo on it? What happened? Why were DePaul U-Passes deactivated in the first place? Apparently someone mistakenly read a list of students holding a U-Pass for a list of students that were no longer valid for the program (either dropped out or went below full-time status).
Chitown Daily News and chicagobreakingnews.com are among the top links to surface when this subject is googled. I was pleased that this story also received a brief mention on Fox News this morning. If it affected 15,000 people, then it should definitely be recognized.
I understand this code being attached to the pass in order to stop others from illegally using cards lost by students. My question is this: why would a CTA employee accuse a student of stealing a pass that clearly has their photo on it? What happened? Why were DePaul U-Passes deactivated in the first place? Apparently someone mistakenly read a list of students holding a U-Pass for a list of students that were no longer valid for the program (either dropped out or went below full-time status).
Chitown Daily News and chicagobreakingnews.com are among the top links to surface when this subject is googled. I was pleased that this story also received a brief mention on Fox News this morning. If it affected 15,000 people, then it should definitely be recognized.
Comment
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Comment by Lisa F. on February 20, 2009 at 5:22pm - Yes... it did for some. It should be over now...
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Comment by Adrian Finiak on February 19, 2009 at 8:47pm - Code 57 became a nightmare.
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Comment by Lisa F. on February 19, 2009 at 8:41pm
- The fact remains that students were inconvenienced and then treated as criminals. It is one thing for the CTA to make mistakes or have faulty equipment, but I was appalled at the level of customer service. DePaul always does a good job of notifying their community of issues that may pertain to them- it appears CTA needs to get on board.
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Comment by Katie Vernoski on February 19, 2009 at 7:45pm - I completely agree with Craig's comment - seriously DePaul! As for the CTA, maybe they need to update the technology...
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Comment by Suzanne Traub on February 19, 2009 at 7:36pm -
It was strange because I got 3 emails about the bomb threat today, but others did not? I'm not sure why I would.
Apparently the upass problem was fixed at midnight. I still can't believe some students got their passes taken way..
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Comment by Christiana Johns on February 19, 2009 at 7:32pm -
I had this problem too, but I was able to use my U-Pass today.
What I find more disturbing is that DePaul sent out a mass e-mail about the U-Pass but not about a bomb threat on campus today.
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Comment by Craig Kanalley on February 19, 2009 at 7:24pm
- This was such a huge inconvenience. I'm glad it got the attention you mention, did not know it made Fox News, but it should have gotten a lot more.
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