RTA Le Pass Reviews

by BrandenHentrich

The RTA Go Mobile App was immensely better than this one. While the old app could have used improvements, we certainly did not need this garbage app. You cannot track all the lines like you used to, buying tickets is NOT user friendly. Want to buy 4 tickets for friends or family? Good luck! I’m sure someone in our odious city government is receiving a hefty check for allowing some amateur tech clown to create & implement RTALePass. Thank god I had like 12 remaining RTA passes on Go Mobile - oh wait, just kidding, the passes didn’t transfer to the new app (color me shocked). One more thing: the name is just awful. “Le Pass,” really? What even is that? It sounds so cringey. Just absolute buffoonery at every angle. I’ll be going back to bringing cash for public transit because RTALePass is forcing us to return to the past. Trash. Do better; so, so much better.

by Scottttti

RTALePass is one giant step backwards in terms of user ability, convenience, and functionality! If you compared the RTA mobile 2.0 to this you would think RTALePass is the old one that was being phase out. Let me list the difference: Mobile 2.0 allowed for real time viewing of all vehicles on that line, it allowed for the purchase of multiple passes at the same time, it allowed the use of the multiple passes you just purchased to be used all at once, the schedule page didn’t have more than two options per route! None of this is allowed by the new Le Pass app!
Why does this public transportation app want me to set my home and work addresses? Why does it link to Uber? This is a public transportation app, it should not be choosing a preference for private companies. They should perhaps work on building the public transportation system so that perhaps they don’t feel the need to include alternative transportation in their app! Why do you include a link for directions aka maps in your app?? Google maps already provides the option to route yourself by bus! RTALePass is an attempt at one stop shop to get around the city and admits it can’t do anything well at all!

by Rjbender

Once you start your route, there is no button to show your ticket.

After you click “start” the directions come up fine. However, showing your ticket tot eh driver is comically complicated. You have to click the back button, which effectively ends the current round, click my tickets, click the ticket, click show ticket, then click yet again to “confirm” that you want to show your ticket. If you have to buy a new ticket, that’s at least three more steps. That’s 5-8 clicks just to show your ticket when boarding a bus.

All of this occurs as your trying to board a transfer, with people waiting behind you and the driver is trying to stay on time. All of those steps are exactly the same color in microscopic print. I’ve occasionally purchased and activated extra tickets on accident.

Then if you manage to board , you have to re-search for your route and start it again.

If the developers had tested the is app at al, they would have seen the need for a button that can simply display your active ticket while you board during an active route. 1 click…easy.

We can only hope for this sometime in the future. Currently we’re stuck with an awkward, time consuming, money wasting process.

by Kypossible

I was early to both my buses based on what RTALePass said but because your app is wrong I’m late to work. Let me see all the routes and choose what I want to take, don’t show me options for my route and then be wrong. I get off for my transfer stand at my bus stop to see my bus turn away from my stop. RTALePass had my station across the street from where the actual station was! And the bus driver who definitely saw me running did not wait long enough to stop for me. I’m new to this job site and am not used to the buses but they are not user friendly. I wish I know where the bus was coming from on RTALePass so I could’ve figured out that it WASNT GOING TO PASS ME! it’s not that hard, if RTALePass wasn’t ready then don’t make people switch over until it is. You’re hurting the working population of this city.

by Argentum.cavea

“Whenever you see an expected arrival time in green, blah blah blah”.

I’ve seen an arrival time in green exactly once in the month I’ve been using RTALePass. It basically doesn’t exist for street cars. The old map showed you exactly where the cars were on the line which directions they were going; this one doesn’t tell you anything. I’m standing here waiting for a street car that’s supposed to be here in three minutes according to the new app – not in green, of course, because that doesn’t exist for streetcars on the new app. The old app shows me that instead there’s not a single streetcar in the CBD is one still about 20 blocks down St. Charles. So instead of a three minute wait there’s a new app says it’s really more like a minimum half hour wait. The boiler plate response about the time in green and steadfast refusal to put actual GPS locations for the street cars on the new app tells me that NORTA isn’t even remotely interested in trying to improve their service, merely to pretend that they are knowing that the tourists will only frustrated for the week or so that they’re here and, well, screw the locals might want to get to work or get home in less than a few hours. I have literally taken the subway from JFK to Midtown Manhattan in less time it takes me to take a streetcar from the CBD to River Bend. NORTA is terrible, and the new app has nothing to do with improving service and everything to do with hiding their incompetence.

by Reedlight

As I’m standing at the stop, waiting for the bus, clueless as to whether or not Im wasting my time:

Sure. RTALePass offers GPS based arrival times. But you have to go to the routes, select the route, then the direction you’re going, and you only see the bus or streetcar on the route IF it’s approaching your stop. What about checking the route to see if I just missed my ride?

For instance, I got to the stop 5 minutes before the posted pickup time, and have been standing here for 20 minutes, and I have absolutely no idea if the bus is even coming, or if it already left. I just am relegated to stand on this street corner, looking down the street to see if I see it approaching. The only way I can surmise that a bus is on its way is because one on the opposite direction just passed.

After a few months of using RTALePass to commute, all I can say about it is that it offers little to no useable information unless the route is running smoothly, and let’s be honest, they seldomly are.

I beg of the dev to put tools in place to allow riders to have just a tiny bit more information on what’s going on with their route. Just show the buses and streetcars and their direction on the whole route, this piecemeal stuff is incredibly frustrating, and makes an already somewhat frustrating commute even more so l.

by Virgil Kane Is My Name

You e heard Boston’s T is horrific…but New Orleans’ RTA might just rival Boston. First trip of day with my 12 year old, the bus stops at the Main Library…no mention by driver or replacement driver that the bus has a low tire, and needs to have a replacement bus. Then pivot to Streetcar (Bus because Canal St. under construction. Bus never shows, but o ask a construction worker tells me that there is no bus and we have to walk six blocks to wait another 20 minutes at the stop at Carondelet for the streetcar… when it does show up, we sit for 15 minutes loading passengers before moving. Nope… not happening..another delay… people don’t have tickets or passes, so they’re allowed to get off and purchase at a kiosk… nearly 18 minutes later we start to move. This is not a serious transportation service… I get it’s the Big Easy & things move at a different pace (and far from my first trip to NOLA), but this is sadly comical…

by Kush T.

I never write reviews for anything ever, but RTALePass — that is so incredibly crucial to New Orleans citizens without affordable access to Ubers and personal vehicles — is a spit in their face. The bus schedule is inaccurate as all get-out. I have to play a game of chicken just to get where I’m going on any given day. Unless the eta is in green, you literally have no idea when it’ll be there, if at all. I just watched a bus pass by 12 mins past schedule without a green eta appearing at all. Riders are being forced to just wait at bus stops, as the only sure-fire way to know if they’re coming is if you literally see them pulling up from down the street. Drivers seem to be on whatever schedule favors them that day. There is no transparency offered to the people dependent on their consistency. Nevermind that a lot of these buses only run once an hour. RTALePass echoes the city’s whole infrastructure in a nutshell. Built for tourists and neglectful of the folks who need it most! Do better, RTA!

by Aub Daug

Bring back the old app! This one’s for tourists who don’t know where they’re going and have all the time in the world to figure it out. The people who live in this city and keep its tourism money machine going, all for peanuts, so thousands use the RTA every day. Locals who will use RTALePass every single day to go to and from their livelihood don’t need walking directions from the streetcar to where they’re going! Whereas the people these features will benefit will probably use RTALePass for one week while they’re vacationing here and then never, ever again. Let the nouveau riche goons rent a Tesla when they visit—it’s just like riding the bus since you’re not actually driving! We want to be able to see the bus’ real time location via GPS, like in the old app, so we actually know when it’s arriving. It’s utterly hilarious to me that RTALePass only provides “schedule times,” without a tracker on the actual vehicles, because last I checked (this morning) all the RTA schedules have had wildly inaccurate since 2019–yes, 2019!—which is why the GPS view was crucial. You are alienating the real RTA ridership with RTALePass. RTA, KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE!!!!!!!

by Nola Helper

The previous RTA app showed real time locations of the bus and streetcar. RTALePass removed that functionality on purpose so that you can’t see when the bus will arrive. All RTALePass does is show you the directions to the nearest bus stop or streetcar stop which is completely worthless if you have any other map app such as google maps or Apple Maps. They also changed the name to make it impossible to find this terrible app on RTALePass Store ( the only good part about RTALePass is that it’s too hard to find to actually download this garbage). If you use RTALePass it will point you to the nearest bus stop, which most likely won’t be going to your destination and you will end up at the city library which is an area of town you never want to be in. Please please please “Le Pass” on downloading this malware to your phone.

by Cocoa Nut Nut

I’m writing this review to let you all know that you have drivers that are deliberately passing up people who are standing, waiting at stops…..this occurs frequently on the 55 bus…..it just happened to me again just about 15 minutes ago……I’m standing at the stop on Rampart and Conti, the driver did see me, and purposely kept right on driving…..he didn’t even slow down. I’m a hospitality worker, I’m on my feet all day…..when I finally get off from work…..I have to walk 19 minutes to the nearest stop, only to be passed by, intentionally, and to wait another 30 minutes or so for the next bus to come!!!! Y’all really need to do something about this, because it is an ongoing issue, and it disproportionately impacts the people who need this service the most…..the elderly, underprivileged, disabled (like myself)!!!! These drivers need to be reprimanded and held accountable for not doing their job…..just like any other government agency!!!!

by Kamokorder

These new routes for New Orleans East are horrible along with RTALePass. The busses hardly have live trackers so you never know when they are truly coming. Sometimes they randomly skip over stops. The 62 is the only bus you can get on now without any extra transfers to get downtown and back to the east and some how this bus route always has major delays with no true reason why. Often times, it seems like the 62 has the worse busses on the route. They're always breaking down, bus drivers are constantly late so once they get to read they tell other riders going pass read that they have to turn around and the riders have to wait for the next bus to come. It seems like these new routes have not benefited anyone outside of the CBD area along with tourist. Something has got to give.

by Pennythinker

This new app is so much worse than the last one. I don’t know who asked for this, but they definitely do not ride the RTA. The maps do not show the location of all the buses and streetcars! And the whole app is confusing and not user/rider-friendly. The last app was working fine! Why make things worse??

by Uptown Vard

The old app you could compare the live location of various routes. When traveling uptown this is ideal. We all know planned arrivals do not always equate to actual arrivals. I will be using RTA less frequently due to this downgrade and unreliability.

by Allie47748387585886

Once you buy tickets, you have to activate them within a short interval before you use them, or you lose them. During popular events like Mardi Gras, you can be standing in line at the Algiers ferry terminal and try to activate your already purchased tickets, but RTALePass is overwhelmed and will not allow you to activate them. And the workers shrug their shoulders and have you go purchase another $20 of physical tix at the window.
Beware at the lower Algiers ferry as well. Even though your phone works perfectly fine for all other apps, you will get a “no internet” message if you try to try to purchase while waiting in line. New Orleans RTA has been holding my money via purchased tickets that I cannot use for MONTHS in RTALePass.

by Winkle Mctinkles

I can’t decide what’s worse, the service or RTALePass , considering their both so inconsistent they’re hanging neck and neck at this point. Do I either wait for a bus with no clear markings or do I use the janky directions within RTALePass for a bus that they didn’t bother to update the wait times for after slashing service? Apparently figuring out how to buy new buses with federal grant money is too difficult for a transit agency, so riders are stuck with reduced service and inaccurate app tracking, notifications, and scheduling. Couldn’t expect much from RTALePass , but it does help out a bunch when you’re at a stop where the temporary signs they just put up fell down. It’s also really fun to watch the bus you walked half an hour for disappear from the tracking.

by Jujukachoochoo

App is relatively easy to use. But the “live” feature is not all that accurate. And every single time I’ve ridden, the driver has been rude and impatient. They yell at you to have your ticket open and ready, but RTALePass tells you to wait until the streetcar arrives to activate your ticket. It is very contradictory. And they’re not at all helpful. They’re just flat out miserable and impolite. Especially if they believe you’re a tourist (which I’m not. I’m local) And they’re inconsistent on who they allow to bring drinks on or not. I’ve had them tell me no drinks and make me throw mine out, while letting others do it right before my eyes. So which is it? We can pick favorite customers to follow the rules or not. I avoid the streetcar as much as possible. Overall, it is not worth it. They should find robots because the people who drive the cars shouldn’t be in customer related jobs if they can’t figure out how to properly address the general public. Train or retrain your miserable staff.

by PMJ214

I am copying what CaGra123 wrote because it is spot on.

Can't buy multiple tickets, app is harder to
read, and all that. But my main concern at
this point is the real-time tracker used: It's
not real-time.
In order for me to really know for certain
that the times given are accurate, I have to
alternate between the old app and this one
because this one just isn't all that
accurate. Sure, it can give me a set time
the next bus is SUPPOSED to be here, but
it usually won't even let me know it's even
five minutes away until it's too late.
More often than not, I won't know a bus is
for sure coming my way until it's already
three minutes down the road.
The bus icon is hard to locate, if it's even
there at all. Other times, it will pop up out
of nowhere and be two minutes away from
my stop so I can't make it in time. Or it will
look like it's further away than it is, only for
the actual bus to pull up right then and
there.

The real time feed is not always available so RTALePass defaults to the ‘supposed’ time of the streetcars which is incorrect. The old app was simpler and much easier to use. RTALePass tries to do everything and ended up being a mess with terrible functionality.

by Rude Operator

We have had the same number 49 trolly four days in a row. There is one woman operator who is very rude EVERY-TIME WE HAVE HER. picked up trolly on canal stop to go to bourbon and she said (you know that’s only 4 blocks right) I said yes and my husband is disabled and that is a long walk. I paid for a full day so I am not sure why it is an issue. She then asked me to activate my tickets which were already activated. She meant she wanted to see my tickets on the phone app which they listed with five tickets (two youth, two adult and one priority senior) when I showed her she asked again to activate and so she made me click on each one. All the people behind us just showed their phone and was not required to do the same. We were very nice and respectful when speaking to her but she has been literally out and out nasty every time we have her as the operator. We are to the point that we wait for the next reply when we notice she is the operator as we know she will be nasty every time. We have experienced this each day for the past four day we have had her as operator. She operates the daytime shift on trolly 49.

by Stew70115

I cannot purchase multiple tickets without going through and buying single tickets multiple times. I must charge my credit card four different times for $1.25 each whenever my family needs to ride the bus. It takes 3-4 min just to buy tickets for a single ride. Similarly when we board, I have to activate individual passes four times instead of activating 4 passes at one time. It’s quite annoying. These things need to be fixed. They were options on the old app. It is also difficult to always track your bus live on the new app. Addending my review from a week or so ago. Just updating that me and my boys just missed church thanks to the wonderful app. Really hope our city isn’t paying these developers to literally help us go backwards.

by Notnotcurious

The best feature of the old RTA app was the bus tracker. That was a game changer for me who previously disregarded the bus as a means of transportation. That was before the Le Pass changeover. So why was this necessary? Understandably the routes needed to be updated, modified. That’s normal for public transportation. But now the tracker is useless 80% of the time. The buses are usually on time (bravo RTA) but it makes all the difference if you can see where the bus actually is in real time. I’m looking to start driving again, which I hate doing. But last Friday I waited for a bus that was almost an hour late. In 2023 people can’t afford to just throw away time like that. If I could’ve tracked the bus I would’ve just found another way to get home.

by Lynnlynn25

The old app allowed us to track the buses with GPS , RTALePass doesn’t, which is not great considering how inconsistent Nola RTA service is ! The 32 bus doesn’t always show up but at least with the tracker I’m not wasting time at the bus stop when there is no driver or the bus breaks down ! This is very disappointing, this is something that needs to be addressed asap!

by Sweet Rue

Needs work. New route recommendations don’t seem as efficient as previous RTA bus app

Plain, not seeing much of an improvement yet.

by JeepLSU

You need a button that’s on every screen that you can press once and your mobile ticket opens. And I get that there are 1 million variables that can cause all the schedules to be off but if you’re going to have the live update Technology just focus on getting that to work and you don’t have to worry about schedules. I got to the bus stop at 1:45 AM for a 1:52 AM schedule. The bus never came and the next one was at 2:52. I would have left but then I got a notification that one was on its way. And then when he got here, turns out it was out of service and just passing by. Now I’m waiting again for the one scheduled for 252 but who knows if it will even show up. But if there was a live update where I could see it, it would at least let me know whether or not I’m safe because if it’s really not coming until 252, I would get out of here.

by Steviie_oh

First, the new app is….ok. Not bad, just different. However. In the RTA GoMobile 2.0, we had the option to view ALL the buses on any given rideline(instead of only showing the bus located 5 minutes from closest stop), as well as click the bus shown in the map and a pop up would show the bus number, and the direction the bus is driving. If at all possible, I would like to suggest bringing those options back and adding to the new app. These features were especially helpful to me and other riders when planning/routing our trips, tasks and errands throughout the city. These features also made it easier for riders to adjust travel routes when certain lines have delays and buses are randomly removed from the routes, and will allow for adjustments sooner…versus having to scramble at the last minute to find another way home because the bus shows up as “to station”, or doesn’t show up at all.

by The Opposite Of Hate

A lot of these bus stops do not have signage and some are not even there at all. RTALePass will tell you to get off the bus at the wrong stop, preferably when I’m going to 231 Veterans Memorial Blvd, Kenner, RTALePass had me get off 30mins before my stop. Had it not been for Google I wouldn’t have known I was in. The wrong spot. It’s very frustrating at times….
Some times it works great but majority of the time it doesn’t and your left waiting at the wrong spot for 30mins or at the right spot for 40mins because the location time keeps updating.

by Bblucite ✨

RTALePass usually doesn’t provide me any issues - if I feel like catching the bus anywhere, it’s pretty easy to plan my trips, track bus locations, purchase fares, etc. you get it. Unfortunately though, I recently purchased a couple of bus fares in early May, just to find out that I literally cannot use them, much to my dismay.

Whenever I click the “activate” button to start using a pass via RTALePass , nothing occurs. I’m not able to actually use the pass when I get on the bus since the passes I bought haven’t actually activated at all, no matter how many times I try to use them. This bug needs to be patched within RTALePass ’s interface asap & a tech support option needs to be available. There should be no way that RTALePass exists, yet when & if I contact customer support for help, I’m being told that tech support for RTALePass doesn’t exist and Token Transit doesn’t provide a viable way for users to receive a refund if they choose to request it.

by Waywardways

Finding the tracking of buses in real time is much more confusing and clumsy than the old app. The times are often not accurate. With safety in the city a serious issue I do not want to wait on a dark corner for a bus that may or may not be showing up in the next few minutes. This should be easier to do. And it doesn’t always seem to work.

by Cathy226

Other times, difficult. Today, Le Pass showed that a #9 bus would arrive at Napoleon and Claiborne in three minutes. Three minutes later, an RTA Lyft vehicle carrying a wheelchair-bound passenger passed the bus stop. The next ACTUAL #9 bus is due in 30 minutes. I think this is a glitch that could be fixed.
Also, rte #91 and rte #51 often seem to have only one bus operating as their full coverage.

by RichBarra

Moments ago around 840 I called into the Rideline to ask a question regarding the 202 bus line. The customer service representative for the Rideline was very impolite and darn near rude while asking a basic question and when I asked her about customer service skills she hung up on me. Perhaps it’s not her day but in the role of a customer service… And there is no need to be rude, especially when dealing with a person like myself with always courteous disc, trying to get answers

by P27159

RTALePass did the job for us, but the user interface should have made a few things clearer. First, the way you can purchase multiple tickets to be used simultaneously by family members could have been made clearer and simpler. It wasn’t clear that when you buy multiple tickets, that multiple family members can use them all simultaneously from the same phone. plus you had to buy the tickets one at a time, at least I couldn’t figure out a way to change the quantity to buy multiple tickets in the same transaction. Also, it wasn’t clear that when you activate the tickets, that they are good for a two hour period. I saw somewhere that it said you don’t want to activate the tickets until right before you board the bus or trolley, but I don’t believe it said why. It’s actually pretty easy to activate multiple tickets very quickly when you see the bus or trolley pulling up.

by ItsYaBoiYoungMegaphone

It works. I can see that it has more stuff than the gomobile app, but this makes it a little more complicated to navigate about RTALePass .

by Mellow Yellow Bellow

It’s a shame I was sitting waiting for the bus by the NOE Library Hub and the bus pause let people off and pulled off in less than a minute. With the buses parked behind each other you can’t see the number on the bus. The #61 going downtown to Main Hub, the bus wasn’t suppose to pull off until 9 minutes. This was at 4:20 I wasn’t able to get the actual bus number. But I think it’s utterly ridiculous that you sit for 30 minutes for the bus to come and it pulls off from the hub so quickly. Something should be addressed about this and the next bus don’t come for another 30 minutes! So literally I’m waiting for another bus for a whole hour!

by COLOR504

The Le Pass app is easy to use and saves you time trying to make sure you have change for the bus for daily usage. The only problem I constantly experience is after 11pm the 62 bus is always late at Basin street. RTALePass reports the bus arrives at Basin at 11:41pm, however it doesn’t show up until 12 midnight. Last Wednesday night on 2-8-23 it didn’t arrive until 12:30am and the bus driver had an attitude when us patrons asked why was it so late. I asked the 61 bus driver that night did she know when the 62 would arrive she had an attitude and stated she doesn’t drive that bus anymore. I’ve noticed and taken screenshots on RTALePass and the bus showing theses late drivers are frequently late consecutively with picking up late night workers who are trying to get home. I buy weekly and monthly passes on LePass but can’t seem to actual service from the drivers being on time often time’s forcing me to hire an Uber. After I’ve invested in LePass. RTALePass is great, it’s the drivers not turn their tracker or turning it off. Lots of times yhe names on the bus don’t match
The Le pass app when they do arrive late. I’ve been meaning to go to RTA to talk with their leadership team in efforts to understand the best times for me to travel between home and work because it’s starting to cost me more when I have to hire an Uber because the driver either is late or doesn’t show up or their disguised as another bus like bus# 11.

by SRamaswamy

You can’t miss them when you arrive in New Orleans. They are there in center of most avenues. Initially I was hesitant thinking that you might need to carry dollars and cents; trying to get that rumpled note into the money slot while the waiting line behind you is impatient and restless. But when I searched, I came across RTALePass that allowed you to pay easily through RTALePass . And even better there was an all day Jazzy pass for just $3 or 3 day pass for $8. This pass allowed you unlimited rides. There’s is a page you can bring up to “show ticket”. Nothing could have been easier.
In addition, RTALePass allows you to put in destination and provides step by step to reach the destination including walking to and from nearest stop.
The pass is valid in street car, bus and the ferry. They run pretty late into night

Great app to avail yourself of unbelievably cheap service from New Orleans RTA.

by Kid From Chicago

I was frustrated that I couldn’t find real time arrival info but there’s a message that shows up in RTALePass explaining how to do it. It works great!

by Klicook

We had a wonderful ride from Harrahs Casino down to cemeteries and back. Our driver's name was Mark and he was so kind and awesome. He helped us download RTALePass and purchase our tickets easily. He was so friendly and gave us great recommendations for our stay in New Orleans. We loved the ride and Mark was truly the best! Definitely gave us the southern hospitality experience! I would definitely recommend!

by DBWA1

I purchased a Jazzy 1-day pass during a short business/pleasure trip to the city. It made taking the RTA seamless & economical not having to deal with transfers & currency/coins. I only took the St Charles & Canal/Riverfront streetcars but was disappointed that the Canal routes (streetcar portion) was shortened. By the way when will they return to their full routing? What about the Loyola/Rampart line? I hope RTA will expand the rail system in the future. I come from San Francisco where there are cable cars, streetcars & a Metro subway/surface system so I’m used to using rail vehicles, much more comfortable than buses. Thank you.