CHICAGO — The Chicago Transit Authority's new payment system Ventra has been doling out some workout and fashion advice on Twitter, but not everyone's taking it to heart.
@VentraChicago advised riders to "Multitask: Avoid the elevator and take the stairs for an at work workout," and to wear "Transitions lenses: your inside/outside best friend & time saver."
But the hashtag paired with the advice — #CommuterClues — was hijacked Wednesday by those who found Ventra's tips to be "odd" and "awful and silly advice."
"Wear a dead raccoon around your neck. It's stylish and will give you something to small talk about at the water cooler," advised Twitter user stefan.
Click here to read a Storify of the best "hashjacked" #CommuterClues tweets.
A string of tweets from Ventra addressing "ladies" and offering fashion advice especially irked some, such as "Ladies, pick a dress over separates and get out the door faster."
"Now boarding for the 1950's, ya broads!" tweeted Dan Ciskey.
"Ladies, just stay at home all together - no commute, and it's where you belong!" fired off Comic Book Candy.
But the CTA has a thick skin when taking complaints from riders at @cta, so it wasn't too rattled by the "hashjacking" of #CommuterClues, said Lambrini Lukidis, CTA spokeswoman.
"I wouldn’t say that our reaction is negative, necessarily. Obviously people have fun on Twitter," Lukidis said. "It’s the Internet, and people have their opinions, and we just have to roll with it."
The CTA wants commuters to know as much as possible about Ventra as the new system begins its rollout, and the Twitter account is part of that campaign, Lukidis said.
Ventra cards, which can be used for automatic payment on the CTA and Pace, have already arrived for students with U-Pass. The cards will begin arriving in the mail for Chicago Card and Chicago Card Plus users next week, Lukidis said.
The CTA is glad people are paying attention, she said.
"I understand some of them are just poking fun at whatever the clues are. It's exciting to see people interact with Commuter Clues regardless," she said. "We're glad people are following Ventra and paying attention to the tweets."
