Big Bureaucracy in Fewer Syllables – VRE Mobile Review

Where do I start. VRE mobile is an ok app if all you need to do is buy a ticket using a credit card and show that ticket on the train. Where it falls short: * Screen flow is optimized for buying tickets, a once-a-month operation for most users, not showing tickets, something most of us do up to 44-times-a-month * Entering a SmartBenefits card is broken. You can't buy a monthly the first time if you use SmartBenefits--there is no provision for splitting payments and entering SmartBenefits in the same transaction * You cannot enter a SmartBenefits card until it's funded (also fails without a message on the VRE web site) * Using an Amtrak Step-up without an electronic multi-ride ticket. Very bureaucratic edit currently enforced by Amtrak conductors in the paper world. Converse works * Electronic tickets are non-refundable. Nice change without reasonable notice. Overall: a 21st century implementation of 19th century business methods.
Review by Opera Critic on VRE Mobile.