So last night i needed to get to soho, and thanks to the trusty CityMapper app, i knew i could grab a bus in 15min from waterloo bridge. From work to the stop, it’s less than a 5min walk, so I didn’t run. Except that when i got to the stop…
Something happened. Which resulted in the below missive to CityMapper support.
————-
Hi guys,
I have a feature suggestion which will be controversial.
After yet another mad dash towards a bus where the bus driver feigned
to be oblivious to my gesticulating form next to him (laugh all you like), i really really really need to rant, and tell the wanker that just because he’s high on speed – or dashing for the bathroom – does not mean he can run off from a stop without picking anyone up!!
And then it occurred to me. There is no rating system anywhere for transport. It sucks. We all know it sucks. Most of us tweet about it, and now most transport providers have twitter accounts so they can pick up the sentiments of the population, warn, advise, and generally
do damage control. Great CRM. Sort of. But that’s all it is. They don’t milk the data for all it’s got.
So, when things get personal, beyond the “signal failure”, what can anyone do? Nothing. I have this wish.
That if i miss a bus because the driver pretended not to see me, bypassed the stop at speed, blatantly refused to stop, or drove like a complete maniac… That i would be able to tell someone. To log it. To have data build up, bus line to bus line, driver to driver, stop to stop… And then we’d know! We’d know which stops are routinely bypassed – or at high risk -, which drivers rush, which ones refuse to leave 10 seconds later and pick up a desperate someone. Especially if the next bus is in 15min, or worse yet, 35!! What’s their cruelty rating? What’s their compassion?
Yes. I would love that. And can you imagine it? Transport companies would build the feedback into their reviews process. They would pay for the data, for the user base, for the insight!
Wouldn’t it be great if CityMapper did it first?
S.
p.s. Or instead of ranting there’s always the option of writing a transport review system manifesto to your favourite app’s dev team….
—————–
Why am i blogging this? Because said Dev team found it amusing enough to call it “user email of the week” and ask for my permission to allow it to hit the air waves social media.
I am sitting on a train, calmly chigging along and pondering if there will be a fan in the vicinity or not. And whether i have a photo in my photo stream i could use. Hmm…
Oh. I wasn’t waiting for bus No.1. This photo is from my #365 project.
