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Kwpolska 8 hours ago

An app is more convenient for something you do every day.

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tiew9Vii 7 hours ago | parent | next [-]

It’s paying for parking.

It was a solved problem long before smart phones.

Technology is supposed to improve the experience not make it worse.

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fenomas 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

The person we're talking about didn't make an app to "pay for parking". They made an app to automate a tedious process their employer makes them do every day.

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UqWBcuFx6NV4r 6 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

What’s your actual point?

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tiew9Vii 6 hours ago | parent [-]

There's absolutely no need for an "app" / "website", a phone, and everything that comes with using that choice, i.e. original posters 10 steps, to pay for parking.

The design choices added more friction than walking past a "pay and display" machine.

The design choices added more friction than displaying a monthly/anual pass that you purchase for regular parking at places like universities.

The design choices added more friction than driving through a boom gate with camera recording license plate, and auto charging you on the exit or taking payment at exit.

You now need your phone with you, fully charged, to complete a transaction for what used to be a quick, simple process for at least 50 years.

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spider-mario 6 hours ago | parent [-]

> There's absolutely no need for an "app" / "website", a phone, and everything that comes with using that choice, i.e. original posters 10 steps, to pay for parking.

Making a proper app for it makes it not take those 10 steps.

> The design choices added more friction than driving through a boom gate with camera recording license plate, and auto charging you on the exit or taking payment at exit.

The one instance of this I have seen used an app to connect your licence plate to your payment method.

> You now need your phone with you, fully charged, to complete a transaction for what used to be a quick, simple process for at least 50 years.

With a proper app, it’s a quick, simple process if you have a phone that is just “not completely discharged”, no need for it to be fully charged.

	▲	tiew9Vii 5 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		> Making a proper app for it makes it not take those 10 steps. No it means I’ve got to install a junk app for every individual carpark I use that uses their own app.
	▲	4MOAisgoodenuf 4 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		Would you download an app to flush your toilet?

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allannienhuis 7 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

why? you can save the website to your home screen and should be able to get the same user experience for launching the thing. everything that happens once inside the app or website is just normal UX design - no reason to do it 'worse' on a website.

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hnlmorg 7 hours ago | parent [-]

> why? you can save the website to your home screen and should be able to get the same user experience for launching the thing.

Except saving that to the Home Screen isn’t the same user experience as downloading an app via an qr code, and you’ll be expecting some pretty technically incompetent people to be using the parking space.

But I do agree with your general point about the UX inside the (web|mobile) app.

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allannienhuis 7 hours ago | parent [-]

the complaint wasn't about the 'discovery and install experience', it was about the UX of paying for parking every day. There are definitely things that the app store experience brings to the table for distribution of apps - trust being the main thing I think. I really don't like the barriers that iOS specifically puts in place for web apps - they're intentionally making it harder than it needs to be, in order to protect their walled garden and the $$ that brings them.

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hnlmorg 6 hours ago | parent [-]

I was clearly replying to your comment about how “saving a webpage to the home screen is easy”.

Yes it’s easy…if you’re technical. But most people who drive are not good with technology.

	▲	JSR_FDED 4 hours ago \| parent [-]
		“Most people who drive are not good with technology”? Now there’s a correlation I wasn’t aware of! Regrettably you’re forcing me to use one of the most annoying phrases on HN: “citation needed”.