Calm down GO, you didn't invent the internet.
The mobile website can be accessed on all smartphones and tablets.
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
GO Transit launches mobile-friendly version of GOTransit.com -- What took so long?!
GOTransit.com is now mobile-friendly. According to the email GO Transit sent out, "It is a fast, convenient and easy way to be kept up-to-date. Get real time information and important service update information anytime, anywhere".
Calm down GO, you didn't invent the internet.
The mobile website can be accessed on all smartphones and tablets.
Calm down GO, you didn't invent the internet.
The mobile website can be accessed on all smartphones and tablets.
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15 comments:
I heard it was going live soon but I thought it was next month.
And look at that, it's only 2014 is all ... who built it? The PRESTO people? It all makes sense.
Pat, We'll be retired before we see that happen AND any kind of service guarantee!!!
And it's still unbelievable that a bus has to be 20 minutes behind schedule before an alert or email is issued to customers. As taxpayers and customers, why doesn't this piss people off and rally the masses? Why is this ok?
Re: Service Guarantee
I am thinking it could be that people are just to beaten down by it all. If you have fought the good fight, with nothing to show for it but a headache and a wicked phone bill, then I can see where people just shut up and put up with the current situation.
Or, they are all naive enough to think that it will still happen. If given enough time, the promises will be fulfilled.
"Calm down GO, you didn't invent the internet."... I laughed out loud!
CJ, while I detest GO Transit (and Presto, and Metrolinx) as much as the next girl or guy, let's think about that service guarantee for a minute.
That was simply Dalton McNumbNuts bribing us with something to forget about all of the other money they criminally pissed away and get us to vote for them like the zombies we are (don't worry, the Tories and NDP also scared the crap out of me so the devil you know .... ).
Anyway, thought out rationally, as much as late trains and buses piss us off royally, if I wasn't a GO transit rider, I would be doubly pissed off because I am now paying for your late trip through my taxes.
Does any other transit service refund your fare if you're late for some reason. Try asking a cab driver for your fare back next time and see how that goes.
We should be thankful we get to suck back some taxes when we're delayed on the trains. It ain't (and shouldn't happen) on the buses as well.
Also, I noticed the Union departure board is missing from the app. Kinda disappointed by that.
And I agree that there should be a bus tracker - so many other fleet vehicles out there today have relatively inexpensive GPS units tracking them. Could this be something the unions are opposing? I know that when a few municipalities who caught workers screwing around wanted to put these units on city vehicles, the unions almost rioted. Just a question is all.
^ Good point. I've never thought of it that way.
The weird thing is that GO Buses are already outfitted with GPS. That's how the Presto system knows where you got on and off, right? So how hard is it to push that GPS information to a tracking website instead of the Presto system? Are we really talking rocket science here?
From Melissa in Customer Relations (since moved on) over a year ago:
"Specific to your concern about the consistency of On the GO alerts, I appreciate you bringing this to our attention. Our investigation revealed that the delay on August 23rd wasn’t reported internally, which is why an alert was not sent. We recognize that consistent communication is essential to keeping passengers informed and we will be introducing a system that automatically notifies us of all bus delays in real time. The system is expected to be in place by January 2014 and we trust that you will see an improvement in the consistency of alerts being sent out. In the meantime, we will continue to work with our Operations team to ensure all delays are reported."
Well, there is no new system to tell us where buses are in real time. Municipal transit systems have implemented them; here's one: http://bit.ly/1eObZcw.
In summary, it's all talk, no action from the Ivory Tower.
re: "Does any other transit service refund your fare if you're late for some reason"? Here is VIA Rail's refund policy: http://www.viarail.ca/en/travel-info/booking/travel-credits
Not only does PRESTO use GPS, but double-decker buses are geo-fenced, which uses GPS, as does the CAD/AVL system that was described in the Let GO Know Winter 2014 Newsletter. All that GPS technology, and GO Transit can't send me a simple text message telling me when my bus is due to arrive at my stop. Epic failure.
Why isn't is sync'd to Presto to enable you to load your card?
I'm pretty sure the app called "transit app" tracks real time the go buses closest to you! New discovery of the week!
GO buses were trackable via GPS, someone came out with a modified version of the GO Tracker using the same data stream that also showed real time GO bus movements on certain routes, including the bus number and route number. GO has since done something to stop that...so the capability for go to show real-time bus movements is fully there. See:
http://iaintgot.no-ip.org/goscrape.html
Running a transportation company is not a child’s play; especially when you are responsible for managing a fleet of vehicles. Without knowing the accurate location of each and every vehicle in the fleet, you will have to resort to a lot of guesswork. And, this is certainly not a good thing as you have deadlines to meet and promises to keep.
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