AVM Venezia Official App 4+

Worst app I’ve ever used. Tourists should think twice before using this service or even visiting Venice if this is how the city is run. Your app does not work to purchase tickets. Not all stations have a machine in which to purchase tickets. So we download this app, pay for the tickets and they won’t display, it just says loading. After 2 boats pass we no longer have time to wait to make our train. So we get on, and wait for the tickets to load. We showed the attendant that the app wouldn’t work and that our credit card was charged and it created a big commotion and he invokes the penalty 60 euros per person clause for being non-ticketed. If your app is so terrible, maybe you should fix it, or at least instruct your staff to be understanding and kind to foreigners who are trying to do the right thing. It’s 2019 - you should have a functioning app. This isn’t the third world.

I don’t typically write reviews for apps. In fact, this may be the first one I’ve ever written — that fact that I’m doing so now should demonstrate how infuriating this app is.

Let me set the stage: You’re in Venice. You need to get from one place to another. You make you’re way to the vaporetto stop, only to find there’s no ticket booth.

What you find instead is a sign telling you to download this app. With it, you’re supposed to be able to buy a ticket online.

In order to do so, you need to register. Okay, fine. But in order to register, you need to provide a phone number for them to send an SMS. I gave them my US number, and the text never arrived. Yes, I tried multiple times.

Now, why they need a working phone number just to buy a ticket to ride a boat is beyond me. When you buy one from a teller or an automated ticket booth, they certainly don’t require anything of the sort. You give them your cash or your card, they give you a ticket. That’s it.

So basically, this app is a waste of time. Don’t try, don’t bother. Just make sure you buy a working ticket ahead of time from one of the larger stops, or get ready to start walking to one.

Seriously, this app is so bad it could be a case study in universities everywhere. It is so inconsistent and non-sensical. Some place it is in English when you select English, but will still have large blocks of text in Italian no matter what language you select. It randomly switches back to Italian and then back to English. Sometimes there is a button to be able to purchase tickets, sometimes it isn’t there 🤷🏼‍♂️. I bought tickets one day, and the next day there is no way to buy tickets. It is really hard to understand how this app is so bad! Do not depend on it, you will be bitten!