Perspective
D.C. Metro's New App May Need a Pre-Launch Update
Washington D.C. transit officials announced plans to update the payment system for rail and bus with a great new app. But if they don’t go further, this writer says, the speed of transit innovation will soon leave them scrambling.
Last month, Metro, the local public transportation network in the Washington D.C. area, announced that passengers will be able to use an app on their smartphones to ride bus or rail by 2019. Metro spokespeople presented their planned mobile app as a game changer that would bring innovation to Washington’s transit system, much like the Hop pass has to Portland and Ventra has to Chicago.
But is it enough?