So how does one change wreak havoc amongst the 70,000 students at Rutgers? The answer lies within its new bus tracking app called Passio GO. According to Passio Technologies, Passio GO was publicly released on May 6, 2017, as a solution for customers riding busses equipped with Passio GO shuttle tracking technology in order to map out where their shuttles were and check shuttle ETAs. Although Passio GO boasts a 1.3 star review on the Apple App Store, universities like Rutgers University have decided to use it exclusively as their preferred form of on-campus shuttle tracking.
Yet students are livid about this new solution of shuttle tracking. In a closed study conducted for this news article, 60% of respondents shared that the Passio GO application is somewhat reliable and 40% of respondents shared that the application is not reliable at all. One student, who prefers to remain anonymous, shared how unreliable the application truly is during critical moments. “I was waiting for a bus that said it was arriving at the bus stop in less than a minute. However, waiting for it for over half an hour the bus still did not arrive, which made me late for my lab” (Student 1). This testimonial by this student alludes to the deceitful nature of the application. As a student, the inability to attend a class due to the unpredictability of the bus tracker exemplifies the havoc that students are facing.
Likewise, students reported that Passio GO’s ease of use was equally as unfavorable as the reliability. All respondents reported difficulty with the app to some extent and another student, who prefers to remain anonymous shared their frustrations privately as well. “I tried using the app once and I was so confused and then I never wanted to take the bus again, so I didn’t” (Student 2). Although this student shared that they only used the application once, this provides justification to the skepticism that’s ensued by Passio GO due to inapplicability and unfriendly UI and UX. Passio GO’s notably horrendous UI and UX were talking points that another Rutgers’ student had mentioned. This third student who chose to remain anonymous as well shared that they, “…think the UI is very outdated and not good. I do not like the app please bring back TransLoc, it is so much better and cleaner UI” (Student 3). This quote from the student embodies the overall negative experience that a Rutgers student faces upon attempting to use the new interface set out by Passio GO.
Although Passio GO has only been out for a couple of months, it’s apparent that the state of disarray students have been left in will last for months to come. It’s worth mentioning that Rutgers isn’t the only university to have used Passio GO. Upon research for this article, a student publication at Harvard produced a similar story about their personal vendetta against the new application and mere chaos it’s caused. At the end of the day though, it’s apparent that all students aren’t a fan of the new changes brought forward by the university and that many students still prefer the predecessor, TransLoc.
