08-27-2018, 08:41 PM
(08-27-2018, 07:48 PM)trainspotter139 Wrote:(08-27-2018, 07:41 PM)ijmorlan Wrote: All excellent suggestions, but this last in particular deserves to be highlighted. Why not, indeed, free software? While it would be nice, I understand why most Apple programs, for example, do not have source code available. But GRT isn’t in the business of selling software; they are in the business of running transit. They should welcome suggestions, changes, and alternate app implementations from others.
But that would upset eSolutionsGroup that someone could make a better official app than them.
Lol, people already make better apps than them.
This is the key though, the app isn't developed by GRT, and there's a good chance the contact doesn't give GRT rights to the source code.
The reason being, eSolutionsGroup *is* in the business of selling software, and they likely have a platform internally that they simply resell each transit agency they deal with, but slightly customized.
It's a highly lucrative business...one where usability is not a high priority.
That being said, I haven't used the app in a while, but when I did, I knew there were a half dozen better apps in the app store already...my question was "why do we bother spending money on this app"...
And a follow up, if we are going to spend money on it, it should be better than competing apps in the app store for our transit agency.
Generally, I see very poor software for local websites and transit agencies: updates for our local city, GRT, GO, and Presto's websites. For every one of those, I felt the usability got worse with the update. So frustrating to see money get spent and things get worse.
As an aside, I've not used the apps, but at least one of the transit agencies in Quebec, "Exo" I found to have a reasonably good website.