Fort Worth’s transit agency has been hacked, and some customers are missing rides
Customers are having trouble reaching Fort Worth’s transit system because the agency’s computers were hacked and phone lines have been down since last week.
Several area residents reported being unable to reach Trinity Metro through its typical phone line late last week and during the Independence Day weekend. Trinity Metro operates a bus system, TEXRail commuter trains and many other public transportation services in Tarrant County.
In particular, many customers of Trinity Metro’s ACCESS services, in which people with disabilities can arrange door-to-door rides by appointment, said they were unable to call in and request or make changes to scheduled rides.
Last week, Trinity Metro posted a rider alert on its website explaining that the agency’s normal phone lines were down, and that customers who needed to schedule a ride could call an alternate phone number — 817-492-6733 — or send a message on Trinity Metro’s Facebook page. But some riders apparently didn’t see that rider alert.
By late-morning Monday, Trinity Metro announced on its Facebook page that its regular phone number — 817-215-8600 — was back in operation.
Customers who are still trying to reach Trinity Metro are advised to continue trying to call either of those two phone numbers, or send a message to Trinity Metro on Facebook.
In publicizing the phone problems last week, Trinity Metro didn’t disclose that its computer systems had been hacked. But on Monday, Jeff Davis, chairman of the Trinity Metro board, explained that the phone outage was a result of the hacking.
Davis said he had been briefed on the hacking, and he didn’t believe Trinity Metro’s customers had had their credit card numbers or other personal information stolen.
Davis said he didn’t think Trinity Metro would pay the ransom demanded from the hackers.
“We’re not engaging in that,” he said.
Veronica Zubiate relies on Trinity Metro’s Access service for errands such as going to a convenience store to purchase a money order so that she can pay her rent. Zubiate, who is visually impaired, said there are no stores within walking distance of her southwest Fort Worth apartment that sell money orders.
On Thursday, she expected her ride to arrive at around 10 a.m., but when the driver did not show up, she began to worry.
Zubiate called the customer service number, but could not get through.
“I was upset; this is unacceptable,” she said.
Zubiate said her rent is due by the fourth of the month, and that she would be charged a $50 late fee plus an additional $5 per day. She ended up paying a friend $20 who gave her a ride to a store, where she bought the money order.
“This almost cost me my rent. I thought of using Uber and Lyft, but I don’t have a job,and I am on a very small, fixed income,” she said.
Last week, Fort Worth Bike Sharing’s computer system was hacked, and the company that operates the bicycle-renting service said some customers’ credit card information may have been stolen. That company, BCycle, sent letters to customers last week notifying them that malware on the company’s computers may have allowed hackers to see personal information between Jan. 24 and April 26.
Fort Worth Bike Sharing is a non-profit organization formed in 2013 as an off-shoot of Trinity Metro, which at the time was known as the Fort Worth Transportation Authority (the T).
