Omar Mouallem slams new ETS 'Live To Go' smart bus app

One day before the City of Edmonton officially launches its new Live To Go transit app for smartphones, critics are already saying it doesnt go far enough.

Ugly and complicated are the words Omar Mouallem, a columnist with Metro Edmonton, used to describe the new app.

Mouallem was one of a small group who downloaded an advanced copy of the app to try out before the official launch on Tuesday.

According to the ETS website, Live To Go is intended to provide real-time updates for the ETS Smart Bus routes at any time, using GPS to track the users current location and nearest bus stops.

Currently, the app tracks 17 ETS busesthat have been fitted with real-time GPS tracking.

But Mouallem says that app doesn't have a trip-planning function, which means users need to be familiar with bus stop and route numbers in their area in order to use the app effectively.

Its really for the most-studied, the most-learned bus user and thats unfortunatebecause that does nothing to increase ridership, he said.

Similar tools, like Transit App and Google route planning, use GPS to identify the users location and nearest routes more effectively, he said.

He added that it doesn't include connections to the city's LRT system.

However, only the ETS app is able to track the movement of smart buses in real time the one advantage Live To Go has over the otherexternal apps, Mouallem said.

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Baffled app was approved

While Mouallem says the new app does contain some useful information, he says it does not give any more detail than the current ETS website already provides.

I dont see why you would have funnelled any money into this, a baffledMouallem said. [Its] not even worth the three megabytes of space that it took up.

Live To Go was one of four tools ETS tendered to theTrapeze Group, a company based out of Mississauga, Ont., which spent seven months developing the new app. In total, the city paid $200,000 to the group, which also used the money to build the city's Bus Finder, Email & Ride and ETS Live Alerts tools.

Its hard to know how much money went into this but its easy to see that not a lot of thought and consideration went into it.

Lorna Stewart, Director ofCustomer Experienceand Innovation at ETS, will speak about the app's official launch Tuesday morning on Edmonton AM.