TAP LA 4+

Devs, please don’t go ‘off the reservation’ by getting all fancy on us; please stick to using official Metro time-tested nomenclature (which has been used on Metro system for over 5 decades, even back when it was called RTD) by referring to lines by ‘line number’, ‘direction of travel’ and ‘city of final destination’ (eg 233 N / Lake View Terrace).

Using “inbound/outbound” nomenclature is fixing a problem which wasn’t even broken in the first place, & only adds needless confusion (think about it for a moment: if you stand at ANY bus stop in the city, the bus serving that line/stop will be inbound before it arrives, and become outbound after it departs from the stop. But the problem is that same principle applies to the bus stop ACROSS the street too, so it’s needlessly confusing).

And YES, I realize the conventional info. for the line’s final destination is available in a sun-menu, but why make users drill down into another sub-menu and exit it, when that’s a completely unnecessary step?

Just stick to standard official Metro terminology, and show the info. on the main menu (I’m old enough to remember when app devs valued ‘elegance’ over ‘needless complexity’).

Keep cash on you because this app I’m not reliable at all. It crashes in every which way an app can crash and doesn’t work at the most inconvenient times. If you rely on this app you will end up having to sound stupid and look in question when you have to explain to the bus driver that it isn’t working, won’t add funds, you added funds and it shows the funds are on your card on the app and the bus driver sees it also but it doesn’t work on the machine while everyone else’s works just fine. Such a disservice to the LA community to allow something that could be so useful and reliable be the opposite on a constant basis. Also when you submit a help request they respond to you as if you don’t know what you are doing. Trash.

The app is decent for adding a virtual tap card to tour wallet and paying fare through that. Aside from that, the search bar is unresponsive, it doesn’t usually load bus times for routes, and when you can get a list of stops for a route you have to figure out what “Inbound/Outbound” means otherwise you could end up referencing the time for the wrong direction. Frankly, just use google maps if you wanna plan a trip, since it also tracks the metro buses.

UPDATE: In an incredible turn of events, Metro has decided to eliminate 1-day and 7-day passes. The app is barely functional as is and certain stations have a problem with cleanliness and accessibility but sure, give more people a reason to fare jump.