Every time I take the BART (I don't live in the bay area so it's not too often) I feel like I'm in some sort of sci-fi movie about future space societies or something. It's so amazingly computerized and well-designed.
And then my mom tells me that it hasn't changed a bit since the 1970s when it was built. She says when it was built they had the same LED tickers at the stations that tell you what trains are coming up with an automatically calculated ETA, that they had the turnstile machines that read magstrips and authorize your ticket on the network and keep track of where you've been nearly instantly and show a nice message on the color LCD screen, that they had the automated computer voice at stations to announce upcoming trains, that they had the same ADDFARE machines with rediculously well-designed human interfaces for adding money to your card without barely thinking.
I just can't believe that. Is it true? Has nothing changed?
And then my mom tells me that it hasn't changed a bit since the 1970s when it was built. She says when it was built they had the same LED tickers at the stations that tell you what trains are coming up with an automatically calculated ETA, that they had the turnstile machines that read magstrips and authorize your ticket on the network and keep track of where you've been nearly instantly and show a nice message on the color LCD screen, that they had the automated computer voice at stations to announce upcoming trains, that they had the same ADDFARE machines with rediculously well-designed human interfaces for adding money to your card without barely thinking.
I just can't believe that. Is it true? Has nothing changed?
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