Sunday, September 8, 2013

Smartphone-Dependent Transit - No thank you

To all those working to design automated transit and improve conventional transit: If you're trying to gear scheduling and/or fare payment to smartphones, please stop.

A number of years ago, well before smartphones were a thing, I spoke with a PRT designer who was planning to make smartcards the preferred means for users to access the system. At the time I counseled him that a public system required anyone be able to pay a fare in cash -- what if the smartcard was lost, or damaged, or forgotten at home or office? What about members of the public who don't have a smartcard, for whatever reason? Tourists for example.