VRE Mobile 4+

I use the VRE app instead of paper tickets and works fine for me for its ticket function. And I like not having to worry about a paper ticket. My main complaint is that the app doesn’t have the actual times for train schedules (just a countdown in minutes to when the train is scheduled to arrive at each stop) or real time status (have to link through the website). It would be great to have push notifications when delays are occurring or for info on what’s happening when you’re on the train and there’s delays (instead of having to check Facebook and hope for info).

Also had a lot of difficulty when updating card info.

The app ticketing function does what it’s supposed to. The train status function does not. There’s never an indication that a train is delayed when it clearly is 10+ minutes past published arrival time. The two things that I extremely dislike are the forced camera access, though I understand the reasoning behind it to make sure the passenger isn’t displaying a manipulated screenshot instead of activating a ride. The other is the forced use of location to purchase tickets and also to activate a ride. There’s no reason to require location access when 1) it shouldn’t matter where I am when I buy tickets because I obviously am not going to be able to use them anywhere but onboard a VRE train for the limited stations that the train serves, and 2) the passenger location has nothing to do with validating a ride because the noted origin and destination points on the validated ride are per the points of origin and destination as purchased and are not changeable thereafter. Requiring location access to buy tickets and to validate rides is 100% unjustified snooping and spying on riders and is most likely to generate user data to sell to the countless data hoarders out there. Location access requirement needs to go away.

Ever since Moovel took over this app, it has been extremely slow to open. Is it too much to ask that an app as simple as this one take less than 2 minutes to open? (I wish I was exaggerating this, but I’ve actually timed it.) Then there are the times when I’ve opened it ahead of time to my monthly ticket, but then the ticket closes on its own before I need to show it to a conductor and I have to go through the 2 minute boot up again. This is currently the worst performing app on my phone by far.

Also, this app says it supports Apple Wallet, but I see no such option in it.

Finally, there is a glitch where tickets I’ve used continue to appear in the Stored Tickets section with a future expiration date that allows for users to use the same ticket multiple times if they are being dishonest.