That 10 minute ticket kiosk made me miss my train in Pittsburgh

Went to buy a parking ticket downtown last week and the machine had this touchscreen where the buttons were basically invisible until you pressed them. Two people ahead of me gave up. I stood there for 10 minutes trying to figure out if I was supposed to tap the map or the tiny icon in the corner. Finally a guy behind me showed me you had to swipe up on the screen first. My train left without me. Has anyone else dealt with a public machine that just refuses to explain itself?

1 comments

1 Comment

jordan_white45m ago

Honestly, I’m kind of on the machine’s side here. The swipe up thing is pretty standard now, every phone does it. You said the buttons were invisible until you pressed them, but maybe that’s because you weren’t looking in the right spot. Ten minutes is a long time to stand there and not try every obvious thing. Also, you saw two people give up before you, that should’ve been a clue to look at the screen differently instead of just staring at it. Missing your train sucks, but the kiosk probably worked fine for the next person who actually tried swiping. Maybe the real issue is that we all expect every machine to look like a 1995 ATM with big labeled buttons, and that’s just not where we’re at anymore.