The CTA had a very busy (and expensive) month in March with its continuation of planned upgrades for several Blue Line stations and the unplanned work on the O'Hare station. The transit authority's Your New Blue campaign marks the largest investment in the branch since the Blue Line was extended from Jefferson Park to O'Hare in the early 80s. Late last week the CTA released this video that gives an update on its work performed in March, however more importantly it reveals a timeline for the CTA's transition over to the Ventra fare card system, which was postponed late last year due to performance issues. So far the CTA says that there are currently 1.5 million active accounts using Ventra, and only 1 in 5 rides on the transit system are non-Ventra cards. Starting May 1, customers will no longer be able to purchase magnetic strip cards, and Chicago Card/Chicago Card Plus users will no longer be able to reload their accounts. Then on June 1, reloading magnetic strip cards will no longer be possible and service for Chicago Cards will end. Finally on July 1, the CTA's new magic date, the transition to Ventra will be complete.

· CTA News in Review - March 2014 [Youtube]

· CTA video - March in review: Your New Blue [CTA Tattler]

· Previous Blue Line coverage [Curbed Chicago]