bluestarbuses 4+

Frustratingly Complicated Mobile Ticket System

This review is only for the mobile ticket aspect of the app. I don’t use any of the other features. I only downloaded it because it has become the only way to buy bus passes in bulk to make them more affordable. Before this, I was using The Key, a plastic card (like a credit card) that could be preloaded with trips and then used to board the bus just by tapping, like a credit card. The Key has now been discontinued, and the app is now the only way to get a multi-trip bundle of tickets (as far as I’ve been able to find).

I really dislike having to use the app for mobile tickets instead of The Key. I would really appreciate it if Bluestar could bring back The Key, because this system is so dysfunctional. There are three main problems I have with the ticket system on the app:

1) needing phone battery and a mobile connection to activate my ticket. Neither of these are things I should need in order to use tickets I have already paid for. The bus stop I usually use often has poor cell service, and i don’t want to slow down the bus or other passengers trying to get the app to load the tickets I have already paid for. The simplicity and the independence of The Key was much better than this.

2) the short window to use a ticket once activated. Because buses are often late, this limit means I can’t activate the ticket until I am on the bus, or else risk losing the ticket if the bus is delayed or if it doesn’t stop for me. This slows everyone down as I can’t prepare ahead of time to board the bus.

3) the ticket scanning system. On iPhones, there is no way to prevent Wallet from opening when the phone senses a card reader nearby (which is itself stupid, Apple, let me turn this setting off please). Because the system that scans my mobile ticket is so close to the card reader, my phone automatically opens wallet, blocking the QR code, so it can’t be read by the sensor and I have to fight with my phone to stay on the bluestar app long enough for my ticket to be scanned. I’ve had to deactivate Touch ID for wallet in order to make sure I won’t be charged on my card when I’m trying to exit out of wallet and return to my ticket. If it charges my card on accident, I’m paying for the trip twice since the ticket still is used up and disappears after 15 minutes.

This whole system is terrible. It’s unnecessarily complicated and irritating to use. It adds so many points of failure, for no reason at all, and slows down the boarding process which is annoying both to other passengers and the drivers. Please please please please bring back The Key. Preloading trips onto a simple card is infinitely better than this ridiculous mess.