Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Getting my library cards onto my phone the hard way

iliana.fyi

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

151–160 of 181 posts

Re: Getting my library cards onto my phone the hard way

#151

Post by walthamstow »

doublerabbit wrote: post #130
afavour wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The only person this really benefits is new users to the system that haven't figured out how to get a transit card yet. Nah. The end game here (as seen in NYC and London) is just getting rid of the transit card entirely. Which is a very positive thing, it’s an unnecessary extra layer of administration to keep track of the balance, top them up, etc etc. Certainly as a New Yorker I’m very glad to be rid of my Metroca…

> Which is a very positive thing, it’s an unnecessary extra layer of administration to keep track of the balance, top them up, etc etc. While true, the negative side of this is that you lose your anonymity. It allows you be tracked via your card, and if you look at this with an dystopian viewpoint could enable you to become targeted by specific advertising based on your purchases while riding the escalators for examp…

> It allows you be tracked via your card, and if you look at this with an dystopian viewpoint could enable you to become targeted by specific advertising based on your purchases while riding the escalators for example

Transport for London already do much deeper tracking than that based on WiFi. They know how many people use the stairs vs the escalator, which areas of the station become congested fastest during peak. It's helped them redesign stations for the better. I'm fine with that, I can opt out by turning WiFi off.

TFL is run by the Mayor, so if dystopian microlocation-based advertising was even proposed I would expect it to end very badly for him in a political sense.

Re: Getting my library cards onto my phone the hard way

#152

Post by manchego »

Kye wrote: post #124
themadturk wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seattle got rid of its downtown core free ride area in part because of disruptive and illegal behavior by riders.

Analemma_'s comment made it sound like some broad and well-studied thing. All I've seen is mention of a single city. This is not remotely enough to support the claim. My claim was based on skimming an article that said fares ranged from about 10 to 50% of funding and I speculated that most probably tended toward 10% since most are small, and small ones depend on federal funding, special purpose taxes (Georgia has a l…

I seemed to remember reading something similar about Austin's buses when they went fare-free in the 80s. I found this linked in the Austin CapMetro wiki page: http://www.nctr.usf.edu/pdf/473-132.pdf

Re: Getting my library cards onto my phone the hard way

#153

Post by Terr_ »

besthknow wrote: post #84
k8svet wrote: post #4

Oooh, now do Orca cards next. Seattle is one of the tech capitals of the United States, and on top of the metro system just being not great, it's also technically inferior to nearly every single other major city that I've used public transit. Pick any European city, CDMX, Denver. They're all light years ahead of Seattle. Denver might have been my favorite. Fun fact, one of the orgs that runs Orca actually wrote a blo…

Best transit card I have used has been in HK. The value on the card can be used in small shops around the city up to $150 dollars.

Yeah, it's weird how in Seattle the Orca card is still barely reaching the convenience and utility that the Octopus card had in Hong Kong over 20 years ago.

Then again, it's not being carried along by a large subway system under incredible urban density.

Re: Getting my library cards onto my phone the hard way

#154

Post by 0x38B »

I use a shortcut and Siri for things like this:

1. Save the image to Photos, favorite it, and get the name (e.g IMG_2678).

2. Make a shortcut with two actions:

- find All Photos where name is IMG_2678 and is favorite.

- Quick look

I most often use “Siri, share my contact”, which shows a QR code for my contact with my cell and email address. It’s proven handy when I was busy (making drinks) but wanted to give someone my contact. Qrafter is what I use to make QR codes on iOS.

Re: Getting my library cards onto my phone the hard way

#155

Post by AniseAbyss »

afavour wrote: post #104
monksy wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This system really sucks because you can't just slide your wallet over the reader. It'll pick up your cc before your transit pass. The move to do tap based transit with cc s is pretty stupid as that cc s get replace far more frequently than transit cards. The only person this really benefits is new users to the system that haven't figured out how to get a transit card yet.

> The only person this really benefits is new users to the system that haven't figured out how to get a transit card yet. Nah. The end game here (as seen in NYC and London) is just getting rid of the transit card entirely. Which is a very positive thing, it’s an unnecessary extra layer of administration to keep track of the balance, top them up, etc etc. Certainly as a New Yorker I’m very glad to be rid of my Metroca…

[dead]

Re: Getting my library cards onto my phone the hard way

#157

Post by obelos »

organsnyder wrote: post #12
k8svet wrote: post #4

Oooh, now do Orca cards next. Seattle is one of the tech capitals of the United States, and on top of the metro system just being not great, it's also technically inferior to nearly every single other major city that I've used public transit. Pick any European city, CDMX, Denver. They're all light years ahead of Seattle. Denver might have been my favorite. Fun fact, one of the orgs that runs Orca actually wrote a blo…

My local transit system just added tap-to-pay that works with any credit card (or Apple/Google Pay etc.). As long as you use the same card it handles transfers, multi-day passes, etc. seamlessly as well—it will automatically ensure you're getting the correct rate (e.g. no charge for passes or rides after a certain number within a certain period).

My city's transit system has this. It's convenient for if you're traveling alone, but traveling with kids now requires more logistics and planning than it used to. Their former electronic pass system was just an app that allowed you to activate any number of adult and child fares all on the same device. Now I have to carry separate physical cards for the kids.

Re: Getting my library cards onto my phone the hard way

#158

Post by fastball »

ivlad wrote: post #135
fastball wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doesn't the Starbucks app literally do this for you? It did when I had it 7 years ago.

That would require granting Starbucks app access to your location, even when the app is in background. Why would you do that?

Presumably because you want this feature?

Re: Getting my library cards onto my phone the hard way

#159

Post by move-on-by »

tomsmeding wrote: post #149

For the Android users around who hate Google Wallet because it, like Apple's Passbook, doesn't allow you to just put in any old barcode, there is a delightful app on F-Droid (not on the Google Play Store, unfortunately) called Loyalty Card Keychain ( https://f-droid.org/en/packages/protect.card_locker/ ). This app allows you to simply enter a number (or scan an existing barcode), choose a barcode type (with lots of o…

For Apple, I use Pass4Wallet to generate the ‘cards’- which I can then import into Apple Wallet. It’s inconvenient, but gets the job done and has a great privacy policy.

Re: Getting my library cards onto my phone the hard way

#160

Post by seanmcdirmid »

qmarchi wrote: post #145
seanmcdirmid wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Japan at least, IC cards seem to be accepted at most cities in the country. Eg you can get a suica card (on your phone) and use it in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka. Not to mention at 7-11 and most vending machines.

Do note that if you want to use Suica/PASMO (or any other FeliCa based card) on an Android Phone, the phone must have been destined for Japan in the first place. The hardware is generally disabled for any non-JP SKU due to licensing fees. The keywords one should be looking for is Osaifu-Ketai. iPhones are the exception, and just takes some finnicking with the settings.

You used to have to use a Japanese iPhone to use a suica card in your Apple wallet, but that restriction was eliminated a few months before my trip. You should check latest restrictions and non restrictions, because it seems to change over time.
Post reply on HN