[DSM-Iowa] Issues with DART's app on the iPhone

Sat May 4 18:04:12 UTC 2019

Good afternoon Federation Family and thank you Wes for reaching out to Dart and for letting us know what you wrote to them. I believe if anyone notices this issue with their app, they should also reach out to DART. I hope they will reach out to Wes to help them resolve the issue and/or at least test it, but it does not hurt for them to see that the issue reported by Wes effects many of us. If Wes's email is seen only as a drop in the bucket, we need to ensure that the bucket actually has a also amount of water. Please follow closely his email and make sure that emails stay factual and professional, which I know you all can and will do. 

Mike Harvey, President
National Federation of the Blind of Iowa
Des Moines Chapter
615-554-0695
Email: mharvey at nfbi.org 
Website: www.nfbi.org 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/National-Federation-Of-the-Blind-Of-Iowa-372681823082570/posts 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/nfb_iowa 
Des Moines Chapter Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nationalfederationoftheblindofiowadsm
Live the life you want.

The National Federation of the Blind of Iowa is a community of members and friends who believe in the hopes and dreams of the nation’s blind. Every day we work together to help blind people live the lives they want.

> On May 4, 2019, at 12:57 PM, Michael Barber via DSM-Iowa <dsm-iowa at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Wes:  This was a very nicely done letter to DART, for not only did you identify the problem, you then provided some possible solutions.  I hope they respond to you and fix this problem.
> 
> Thanks again.
> 
> Michael Barber
> 
> 
> Cordially,
> Michael D. Barber
> 
>> On May 4, 2019, at 12:10 PM, Wesley Majerus via DSM-Iowa <dsm-iowa at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> 
>> Greetings, Iowa Federationists:
>> 
>> I'm posting this both to Tall-Corn and DSM-Iowa. This is mostly
>> because I know that DSM-Iowa is a fledgling list. DART recently
>> updated their iPhone app and it is now inaccessible from a ticketing
>> standpoint. Essentially, if you select a pass and then want to
>> activate it, this is not possible nonvisually. The bar near the bottom
>> of the screen you use cannot be activated while VO is on. If you have
>> an active pass, i.e. you got a pass before this update came down, it
>> is still usable. It is when you need to activate a new one that you
>> will have difficulty. This seems to be the only part of the app they
>> broke.
>> 
>> Below is an email I sent to DART. It provides possible solutions and
>> offers my help to them. I am writing the main customer service address
>> and a guy named Catlin Curry who I spoke to last year to look at the
>> new fareboxes. I will share any updates I learn. It should be noted
>> that a live conversation with someone at the DART customer service
>> windows yielded nothing, and neither did my phone conversation with a
>> guy named Richard. I am hopeful that this email yields something
>> because I am kind of liking not having to carry cash or to be hassled
>> by DART customer service (that's really about the only place you can
>> buy passes anymore) for wanting to pay full fare on the buses.
>> 
>> Again, I will keep you all posted and this email may serve as a guide
>> if you too decide you want to contribute to this effort.
>> 
>> *****
>> 
>> 
>> Greetings:
>> 
>> I am Wes Majerus, a frequent rider of DART buses who happens to be
>> blind. I have competently and confidently used all aspects of the My
>> DART app since its unveiling in October of 2017, including the mobile
>> ticketing features. I was excited when, on Easter Sunday, I received
>> an update to your application that boasted an integrated trip planner
>> and Next Bus feature that did not rely on web views and is usable
>> inside the application. This part of the application works well.
>> 
>> My excitement about the inline trip planner and bus tracker was
>> equaled with dismay regarding mobile ticketing. From the standpoint of
>> the application, this feature has worked well since October of 2017.
>> Unfortunately, blind riders can no longer access their unused tickets
>> using the iPhone without performing tasks that involve unpredictable
>> results.
>> 
>> The iPhone comes with a built-in functionality called VoiceOver. This
>> is a screen reading software that uses spoken output or Braile from a
>> connected refreshable Braille display to communicate what is on the
>> screen of the device. Commands are available to control what is read
>> and how. Before the Easter Sunday update, one could locate a ticket in
>> their wallet, double-tap on it (this is the standard gesture VoiceOver
>> uses to select an item), and then double-tap on the bar that says "Tap
>> to Activate Ticket". One can no longer activate this bar when
>> VoiceOver is on. I am totally blind and cannot use my phone without
>> VoiceOver. I am not sure what changed on the ticketing screen in this
>> update, but, as previously stated, the process for activating tickets
>> was working well. If you cannot see the screen of your phone at all,
>> you can get your finger where you think the bar is without VoiceOver
>> running. Unfortunately, it then becomes a game of chance whether your
>> finger will correctly activate the button and start the activation
>> process. Each time an activation attempt is made, the process involves
>> turning VO off, tapping the screen where you think the activation bar
>> is, then turning VO on to check. The only way you know this was
>> successful is if the modal dialog that confirms you are about to
>> activate the ticket appears.
>> 
>> Here are the current issues I see with the MyDart app as of the
>> current version. I am running an Apple iPhone 7 Space Gray 256 GB with
>> all publicly-available Apple and My Dart updates applied.
>> Unable to reliably activate tickets nonvisually.
>> Unpredictable behavior of the "Tap to open scannable code" button on
>> active tickets. This causes undue delay when trying to scan at the
>> terminal. Since all buses have barcode terminals, is there a reason
>> why we cannot have the barcode maximized at all times?
>> Is there a way the phone can detect that it is near one of your fare
>> terminals and automatically open the barcode for scanning? Could the
>> barcodes be eliminated altogether with the use of NFC or bluetooth?
>> Sluggish behavior and app crashes when network connectivity is not
>> optimal. For example, if you are on DART's Wi-Fi, but have not gotten
>> past the captive page, the app will crash. I ran into this a few days
>> ago and could not use my app. This is a sneaky bug because you can
>> prepare while at home or elsewhere, but opening the ticket at the
>> station or near a bus whose wifi you've accessed before causes issues.
>> 
>> I am willing to discuss these issues with you further and to help you
>> troubleshoot them. You may feel free to contact me via phone or email;
>> be advised that I do work full-time and am available for phone calls
>> sporadicly.
>> 
>> Thank you,
>> 
>> Wes Majerus
>> 
>> Phone number redacted from copy
>> 
>> ***
>> 
>> 
>> There are also some physical and philosophical issues regarding DART
>> that I am concerned about, but they would probably best be left to
>> separate cover as they are related to other aspects of the transit
>> process.
>> 
>> Thank you,
>> 
>> Wes Majerus
>> 
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> 
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