<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto">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. <div><br><br><div id="AppleMailSignature" dir="ltr"><br><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Mike Harvey, President<br>National Federation of the Blind of Iowa<br>Des Moines Chapter<br><a href="tel:615-554-0695" dir="ltr" x-apple-data-detectors="true" x-apple-data-detectors-type="telephone" x-apple-data-detectors-result="4/0" style="-webkit-text-decoration-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.258824);">615-554-0695</a><br>Email: <a href="mailto:mharvey@nfbi.org">mharvey@nfbi.org</a> <br><i>Website: <a href="http://www.nfbi.org/">www.nfbi.org</a> <br>Facebook: </i><a href="https://www.facebook.com/National-Federation-Of-the-Blind-Of-Iowa-372681823082570/posts">https://www.facebook.com/National-Federation-Of-the-Blind-Of-Iowa-372681823082570/posts</a> <i><br>Twitter: </i><a href="https://twitter.com/nfb_iowa">https://twitter.com/nfb_iowa</a> <i><br>Des Moines Chapter </i><span lang="EN">Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/nationalfederationoftheblindofiowadsm" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: none;">https://www.facebook.com/nationalfederationoftheblindofiowadsm</span></a></span><i><br>Live the life you want.<br></i><br>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.</span></div></div><div dir="ltr"><br>On May 4, 2019, at 12:57 PM, Michael Barber via DSM-Iowa <<a href="mailto:dsm-iowa@nfbnet.org">dsm-iowa@nfbnet.org</a>> wrote:<br><br></div><blockquote type="cite"><div dir="ltr"><span>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.</span><br><span></span><br><span>Thanks again.</span><br><span></span><br><span>Michael Barber</span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>Cordially,</span><br><span>Michael D. Barber</span><br><span></span><br><blockquote type="cite"><span>On May 4, 2019, at 12:10 PM, Wesley Majerus via DSM-Iowa <<a href="mailto:dsm-iowa@nfbnet.org">dsm-iowa@nfbnet.org</a>> wrote:</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span></span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>Greetings, Iowa Federationists:</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span></span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>I'm posting this both to Tall-Corn and DSM-Iowa. This is mostly</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>because I know that DSM-Iowa is a fledgling list. DART recently</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>updated their iPhone app and it is now inaccessible from a ticketing</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>standpoint. Essentially, if you select a pass and then want to</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>activate it, this is not possible nonvisually. The bar near the bottom</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>of the screen you use cannot be activated while VO is on. If you have</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>an active pass, i.e. you got a pass before this update came down, it</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>is still usable. It is when you need to activate a new one that you</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>will have difficulty. This seems to be the only part of the app they</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>broke.</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span></span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>Below is an email I sent to DART. It provides possible solutions and</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>offers my help to them. I am writing the main customer service address</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>and a guy named Catlin Curry who I spoke to last year to look at the</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>new fareboxes. I will share any updates I learn. It should be noted</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>that a live conversation with someone at the DART customer service</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>windows yielded nothing, and neither did my phone conversation with a</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>guy named Richard. I am hopeful that this email yields something</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>because I am kind of liking not having to carry cash or to be hassled</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>by DART customer service (that's really about the only place you can</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>buy passes anymore) for wanting to pay full fare on the buses.</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span></span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>Again, I will keep you all posted and this email may serve as a guide</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>if you too decide you want to contribute to this effort.</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span></span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>*****</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span></span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span></span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>Greetings:</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span></span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>I am Wes Majerus, a frequent rider of DART buses who happens to be</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>blind. I have competently and confidently used all aspects of the My</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>DART app since its unveiling in October of 2017, including the mobile</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>ticketing features. I was excited when, on Easter Sunday, I received</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>an update to your application that boasted an integrated trip planner</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>and Next Bus feature that did not rely on web views and is usable</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>inside the application. This part of the application works well.</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span></span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>My excitement about the inline trip planner and bus tracker was</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>equaled with dismay regarding mobile ticketing. From the standpoint of</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>the application, this feature has worked well since October of 2017.</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>Unfortunately, blind riders can no longer access their unused tickets</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>using the iPhone without performing tasks that involve unpredictable</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>results.</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span></span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>The iPhone comes with a built-in functionality called VoiceOver. This</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>is a screen reading software that uses spoken output or Braile from a</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>connected refreshable Braille display to communicate what is on the</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>screen of the device. Commands are available to control what is read</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>and how. Before the Easter Sunday update, one could locate a ticket in</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>their wallet, double-tap on it (this is the standard gesture VoiceOver</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>uses to select an item), and then double-tap on the bar that says "Tap</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>to Activate Ticket". One can no longer activate this bar when</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>VoiceOver is on. I am totally blind and cannot use my phone without</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>VoiceOver. I am not sure what changed on the ticketing screen in this</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>update, but, as previously stated, the process for activating tickets</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>was working well. If you cannot see the screen of your phone at all,</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>you can get your finger where you think the bar is without VoiceOver</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>running. Unfortunately, it then becomes a game of chance whether your</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>finger will correctly activate the button and start the activation</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>process. Each time an activation attempt is made, the process involves</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>turning VO off, tapping the screen where you think the activation bar</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>is, then turning VO on to check. The only way you know this was</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>successful is if the modal dialog that confirms you are about to</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>activate the ticket appears.</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span></span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>Here are the current issues I see with the MyDart app as of the</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>current version. I am running an Apple iPhone 7 Space Gray 256 GB with</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>all publicly-available Apple and My Dart updates applied.</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>Unable to reliably activate tickets nonvisually.</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>Unpredictable behavior of the "Tap to open scannable code" button on</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>active tickets. This causes undue delay when trying to scan at the</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>terminal. Since all buses have barcode terminals, is there a reason</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>why we cannot have the barcode maximized at all times?</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>Is there a way the phone can detect that it is near one of your fare</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>terminals and automatically open the barcode for scanning? Could the</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>barcodes be eliminated altogether with the use of NFC or bluetooth?</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>Sluggish behavior and app crashes when network connectivity is not</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>optimal. For example, if you are on DART's Wi-Fi, but have not gotten</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>past the captive page, the app will crash. I ran into this a few days</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>ago and could not use my app. This is a sneaky bug because you can</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>prepare while at home or elsewhere, but opening the ticket at the</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>station or near a bus whose wifi you've accessed before causes issues.</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span></span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>I am willing to discuss these issues with you further and to help you</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>troubleshoot them. You may feel free to contact me via phone or email;</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>be advised that I do work full-time and am available for phone calls</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>sporadicly.</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span></span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>Thank you,</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span></span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>Wes Majerus</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span></span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>Phone number redacted from copy</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span></span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>***</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span></span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span></span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>There are also some physical and philosophical issues regarding DART</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>that I am concerned about, but they would probably best be left to</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>separate cover as they are related to other aspects of the transit</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>process.</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span></span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>Thank you,</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span></span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>Wes Majerus</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span></span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>_______________________________________________</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>DSM-Iowa mailing list</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span><a href="mailto:DSM-Iowa@nfbnet.org">DSM-Iowa@nfbnet.org</a></span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span><a href="http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/dsm-iowa_nfbnet.org">http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/dsm-iowa_nfbnet.org</a></span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span>To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for DSM-Iowa:</span><br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span><a href="http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/dsm-iowa_nfbnet.org/m.barber817%40gmail.com">http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/dsm-iowa_nfbnet.org/m.barber817%40gmail.com</a></span><br></blockquote><span></span><br><span>_______________________________________________</span><br><span>DSM-Iowa mailing list</span><br><span><a href="mailto:DSM-Iowa@nfbnet.org">DSM-Iowa@nfbnet.org</a></span><br><span><a href="http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/dsm-iowa_nfbnet.org">http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/dsm-iowa_nfbnet.org</a></span><br><span>To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for DSM-Iowa:</span><br><span><a href="http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/dsm-iowa_nfbnet.org/mharvey%40nfbi.org">http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/dsm-iowa_nfbnet.org/mharvey%40nfbi.org</a></span><br></div></blockquote></div></body></html>