Back in January of 2013 I was running late for the airport. I was trying to determine if my MARTA card already had the needed credits to make the trip. I had to browse through a multi-step process and then enter a 16 digit number that was printed in a very small font on my breezecard. This is pretty cumbersome for something that should be a 1-step process. Once on the train I sent MARTA an online comment.
I should have mentioned how annoyed I was at having to navigate such a silly process. Not long after I posted my comment, MARTA responded.
A few months later I was playing around reverse engineering the MARTA site and revisited the email. It was then that I realized "Roderick" wasn't actually copied. I went ahead and replied.
There's some fun here. Pretty sure those submitButton.x and submitButton.y arguments are there to stop people from doing what I was doing. To be fair, that would probably stop most of the bots. The breezecard.com folks might have any number of good reasons for making it difficult to build a single url that would show my card's value. We can speculate in the comments if anyone ever reads this. Note that the "Breeze Balance" links on breezecard.com don't currently work as I'm typing this. The balance URL used in the QR code does though.
Try it yourself:
The email address that I replied to bounced and I never heard anymore.
Fast forward 4 years and MARTA is in the process of updating their card system which has me thinking about this all again. Times have changed, social media in general and Twitter in particular have allowed consumers to raise their voices with brands. That's why I'm writing this blog post, I'm going to try to communicate with MARTA using the channels now available. Maybe MARTA will consider innovating, maybe I'll learn something, maybe nothing will happen at all (if I were a betting man).
I think the MARTA brand would benefit from being seen as technology and customer focused. I think adding these features to the breezecard and smart phone app would reduce usage of kiosks which would mean longer kiosk life and shorter lines for MARTA customers at peak times. Full disclosure, I work in the customer experience space. I'd love to see what customers do after checking their balance. How that relates to their overall likelihood to make use of MARTA. What features get the most usage and so on.
So how would MARTA/breezecard go about implementing all this?
First step isn't technically difficult. The balance check URL above is still working, even if the multi-step process I initially circumvented isn't.
1. Add QR code with appropriate URL to the back of the breezecard. If it's the same URL as above lets add a qr=1 argument. That way whomever is working on the web analytics or customer experience side at breezecard can tell how many people are using the QR code.
2. Once viability is established, rework the itsmarta.com or breezecard.com site such that card balance URL is as short as possible. The shorter the URL, the simpler the QR code and the less likely a misread might happen.
3. It's a straight forward matter to add a QR code reader to the "Marta On the Go" app. This reader can strip out the breezecard number and on one simple screen allow the user to see their balance, add credit, add card to an established account. Location data would be available so a targeted location relevant advertisement could be seen. "50 cents off a taco at Raging Burrito in Decatur".
4. Modify the balance web page such that the same features are provided without the user even having to make use of the MARTA app.
Assuming the breezecard balance check URL continues to work, you can make your own QR code and print it out for sticking to the back of your card. Just copy the URL below and add your card's 16 digit number to the end. Note that I've got our qr=1 argument in there. Maybe they'll notice.
https://balance.breezecard.com/breezeWeb/cardnumber_qa.do;jsessionid=1?submitButton.x=21&submitButton.y=9&qr=1&cardnumber=
I used http://www.qrstuff.com/ but it shouldn't really matter how you build the QR code.
I'll paste in some useful URLs below.
The MARTA Army is an independent grassroots action group, committed to enhancing the ridership experience on public transit here in Metro Atlanta. The Army engages citizens across the region to reclaim ownership over the MARTA network by making it more accessible and convenient in their own neighborhoods.
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/MARTASERVICE
https://twitter.com/MARTAarmy
https://twitter.com/CEOmarta
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/MARTAtransit/
https://www.facebook.com/martaarmy/
Web:
http://www.martaarmy.org/
http://martahackathon.org/
Update 1:
So far I've tweeted at every MARTA related twitter handle I can find.
@ceomarta, @goldietaylor, @martaservice, @martaarmy, @martatod1
No traction yet. I'll keep looking.
I did confirm that bcrd.co is available as far as a short URL host. 16 digit (base 10) numbers can be reduced to 10 digit base 36 numbers). So my card above could be bcrd.co/1kq1wf8d25. That's a pretty short URL for the QR code. I'll poke around and see about shortening that further still.
Also I learned that base-36 numbers are hexatridecimal.
Update 2:
MARTA has taken some of this to heart and are now sponsoring hackathons. Certainly I'm not the only one who thinks this way (and maybe not the only one to suggest QR codes on the back of cards, it ain't rocket-surgery). A few more links added above.
Hi Guys, love the ability to look up my card value online. Why not throw a QR code on the back of the card so I can do it super easy with my phone.That was during the stretch where QR codes were everywhere. Plenty of places that were silly and made no sense at all. Mine was an example where QR codes made sense, added capability, and improved customer experience.
I should have mentioned how annoyed I was at having to navigate such a silly process. Not long after I posted my comment, MARTA responded.
That was a pleasant surprise. I figured that was the end of it though. Almost a month later I was copied on another email. It was a forwarding of my comments to a gentleman named "Roderick".Dear Mr. Hogg,Thank you for your suggestion. I am forwarding this information to the Technology Department for their review and consideration. MARTA appreciates your input and the privilege to serve you.Happy New Year,
Greetings Roderick,FYICheers,
A few months later I was playing around reverse engineering the MARTA site and revisited the email. It was then that I realized "Roderick" wasn't actually copied. I went ahead and replied.
The astute among you are now able to see the balance on my MARTA card. I'll shortly convert it to one of the new gray cards and the links and QR code may have nothing to show. Please don't clone my card and steal my 16 rides.Hi Guys,Roderick may not have made it onto the thread as I can't see him.I took the liberty of creating a few examples with my cards here.Knowing full well that's not the hard part, it's the printing of the cards that is the issue.Your system will already provide the needed data with no changes.I'll paste the example links in below:https://balance.breezecard.com/breezeWeb/cardnumber_qa.do;jsessionid=1?submitButton.x=21&submitButton.y=9&cardnumber=0160023760368413https://balance.breezecard.com/breezeWeb/cardnumber_qa.do;jsessionid=1?submitButton.x=21&submitButton.y=9&cardnumber=0160033552086172There are matching QR codes in the included word doc.In a similar vein, an SMS gateway would also make things imminently more usable.For presumably relatively small cost. Text your 16 digit number to 62782 (MARTA) or whatever.I just can't leave well enough alone,Russell
There's some fun here. Pretty sure those submitButton.x and submitButton.y arguments are there to stop people from doing what I was doing. To be fair, that would probably stop most of the bots. The breezecard.com folks might have any number of good reasons for making it difficult to build a single url that would show my card's value. We can speculate in the comments if anyone ever reads this. Note that the "Breeze Balance" links on breezecard.com don't currently work as I'm typing this. The balance URL used in the QR code does though.
Try it yourself:
The email address that I replied to bounced and I never heard anymore.
Fast forward 4 years and MARTA is in the process of updating their card system which has me thinking about this all again. Times have changed, social media in general and Twitter in particular have allowed consumers to raise their voices with brands. That's why I'm writing this blog post, I'm going to try to communicate with MARTA using the channels now available. Maybe MARTA will consider innovating, maybe I'll learn something, maybe nothing will happen at all (if I were a betting man).
I think the MARTA brand would benefit from being seen as technology and customer focused. I think adding these features to the breezecard and smart phone app would reduce usage of kiosks which would mean longer kiosk life and shorter lines for MARTA customers at peak times. Full disclosure, I work in the customer experience space. I'd love to see what customers do after checking their balance. How that relates to their overall likelihood to make use of MARTA. What features get the most usage and so on.
So how would MARTA/breezecard go about implementing all this?
First step isn't technically difficult. The balance check URL above is still working, even if the multi-step process I initially circumvented isn't.
1. Add QR code with appropriate URL to the back of the breezecard. If it's the same URL as above lets add a qr=1 argument. That way whomever is working on the web analytics or customer experience side at breezecard can tell how many people are using the QR code.
2. Once viability is established, rework the itsmarta.com or breezecard.com site such that card balance URL is as short as possible. The shorter the URL, the simpler the QR code and the less likely a misread might happen.
3. It's a straight forward matter to add a QR code reader to the "Marta On the Go" app. This reader can strip out the breezecard number and on one simple screen allow the user to see their balance, add credit, add card to an established account. Location data would be available so a targeted location relevant advertisement could be seen. "50 cents off a taco at Raging Burrito in Decatur".
4. Modify the balance web page such that the same features are provided without the user even having to make use of the MARTA app.
Assuming the breezecard balance check URL continues to work, you can make your own QR code and print it out for sticking to the back of your card. Just copy the URL below and add your card's 16 digit number to the end. Note that I've got our qr=1 argument in there. Maybe they'll notice.
https://balance.breezecard.com/breezeWeb/cardnumber_qa.do;jsessionid=1?submitButton.x=21&submitButton.y=9&qr=1&cardnumber=
I used http://www.qrstuff.com/ but it shouldn't really matter how you build the QR code.
I'll paste in some useful URLs below.
The MARTA Army is an independent grassroots action group, committed to enhancing the ridership experience on public transit here in Metro Atlanta. The Army engages citizens across the region to reclaim ownership over the MARTA network by making it more accessible and convenient in their own neighborhoods.
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/MARTASERVICE
https://twitter.com/MARTAarmy
https://twitter.com/CEOmarta
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/MARTAtransit/
https://www.facebook.com/martaarmy/
Web:
http://www.martaarmy.org/
http://martahackathon.org/
Update 1:
So far I've tweeted at every MARTA related twitter handle I can find.
@ceomarta, @goldietaylor, @martaservice, @martaarmy, @martatod1
No traction yet. I'll keep looking.
I did confirm that bcrd.co is available as far as a short URL host. 16 digit (base 10) numbers can be reduced to 10 digit base 36 numbers). So my card above could be bcrd.co/1kq1wf8d25. That's a pretty short URL for the QR code. I'll poke around and see about shortening that further still.
Also I learned that base-36 numbers are hexatridecimal.
Update 2:
MARTA has taken some of this to heart and are now sponsoring hackathons. Certainly I'm not the only one who thinks this way (and maybe not the only one to suggest QR codes on the back of cards, it ain't rocket-surgery). A few more links added above.
