Ahhhh, the dreaded frozen computer screen. This time it happened to my iPad, which I intended to use to review proofs for this issue of the magazine. Typically so convenient and efficient, now more like a brick of frustration.
Despite numerous maneuvers through iTunes, the device would not reset, so it was on to Apple customer support. More than an hour later — with no progress, even after involving a senior tech advisor — it’s on to the local Apple store, where I hope the Genius Bar will live up to its name.
The first available appointment is in 10 hours, so I’m not the only one with technical issues. It seems so primitive to wait in line when we are becoming accustomed to fast, automatic and seamless support and apps that make life go more smoothly.
Improved technology also has increased those expectations for transit. For example, the recent American Public Transportation Association (APTA) Revenue Management and Fare Collection Summit and TransITech Conference in Orlando featured presentations and exhibits that demonstrated the technical complexities in fare collection. The topics included mobile ticketing, Bluetooth, near field communications (NFC), and EMV (Europay, MasterCard and Visa) chip migration. It was easy to see the advantages these systems offer for both riders and agencies. With the best of these systems, a rider can set up fare payments online and forever after do very little except carry a phone or wallet, much like using an easy-pass on the tollway. The fare is collected seamlessly. On the agency side, fast boarding, less cash handling and presumably increased ridership are among the benefits of implementing the latest in fare collection technology.
Inevitably though, there’s a downside to our tech dependency.
We may love the new features of our devices, but updates and crashes are an inevitable part of the bargain we make with complex electronics. I find it necessary to set aside time each week to maintain all my gadgetry. Before the iPad issue arose, I reprogrammed my Honeywell thermostat since it wasn’t cycling properly. This reprogramming was guided by an 8-page quick-start guide, backed by a 44-page owner’s manual. For a thermostat! No wonder most people never get around to programming them, much like certain old VCRs that perpetually blinked "12:00." My old round-faced Honeywell took just a twist of the dial to adjust, and the current one now works, but I really want the new smart-generation Nest thermostat that monitors and adjusts in response to outside temperatures and learns preferences and patterns and makes life easier. Excellent, but let’s hope it can fix itself as well.
I appreciate all my high-tech devices and their increasingly clever and useful features (read complexity), just as I think you will continue to find huge benefits in adapting new technologies into your operations. I just wish we didn’t need a genius to fix them. The other risk is once you enter an Apple store and look around, it’s nearly impossible to walk out empty-handed.
