Anaheim resident Tim Miller has never owned a cell phone — not even a flip phone or a Blackberry.
It hasn’t been an issue until recently.
Since he doesn’t have a car, the 65-year-old relies on buses to get to doctor appointments and visit friends and loved ones.
For years, he used the bus routes and timetables that were posted directly at all 5,200 bus stops around Orange County, complete with a map and up-to-date bus schedules.
But in May, the Orange County Transit Authority (OCTA) removed that information from bus stops and replaced it with QR codes and phone numbers for customer service.
For people like Miller, it’s made it difficult to catch the right bus at the right time. Standing at a bus stop in Anaheim, he pointed out the new QR codes.
“It’s almost discrimination against people without a cell phone or a smartphone…public transportation was supposed to be for the people and to be readily available and easy to use,” Miller said. “But if you have a sign that only has QR codes, that’s not really accessible to everyone.”
OC Bus stops: Before and after
Orange County bus stops signs used to display the bus schedule and a map of the bus route.
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