Love City Car Ferries, Inc., the locally owned and operated company that owns and operates the Vic and Grand Vic car barges between Red Hook and Cruz Bay, launched an app this week that may make things a bit easier on the passage between Love City and Rock City! I know that this post won’t apply to a lot of you because MANY of you rent your cars on St. John while you’re here and don’t have to hassle with the car barge.
But for those of you who were not able to find a rental on St. John, and for those of us that live here and need to head to St. Thomas for grocery runs, doctors appointments and/or flights out, this app looks like it will make things a bit easier in the realm of navigating the sometimes unpredictable car barge schedule.
I saw the LCCF post on Facebook last night and immediately went to the Google Play store to download it. It is available for free either there or in the Apple Store. This morning, I woke up to a notification that both the Grand Vic and the Captain Vic are “On the Go!”
Now, let me be clear. This app definitely has a few downfalls and kinks to be worked out. The interface is a bit slow, for starters. There is a link to buy tickets online, but there is no clear schedule posted within the app…Their website has one, however it is not updated in real time. Lastly, the consistency of the schedule for these two barges is widely affected by the other barges, Big Red Barge and the General, actually showing up for work on a given day. And that information is not included in the app. However, I love seeing all the steps being taken to streamline these necessary services and I am very excited that LCCF has taken the first steps to keep us updated about their services!
Some bonuses to the app:
- Daily notifications on sailings and/or schedule changes (Like I said, I just downloaded it last night, so maybe there will be updates throughout the day on schedule lags?)
- Payments with credit cards on board! HUGE!!
- Reservation/Booking Portal (Again, I would advise against pre-booking the car barge….You never know which boat you will end up on!)
- LCCF About & Contact Info
With the release of this app, LCCF hopes to make things more convenient for their clients and to further streamline their processes. Sending out a virtual high five to the company and their ingenuity in moving the barge system into a more technologically advanced and convenient communication system!
Can you test out the CC payment feature and let us know how it works? Do you wait until you are loaded, or wait for the attendant to approach your vehicle (seems like a bad idea) does the app give a big green check mark or something when your payment is successful?
Why do you advise against pre-booking? The website seems to say that you can use your booked ticket on a later boat, first-come, first-served, if needed. With busy tourism these days, is pre-booking necessary to guarantee passage? Thank you for your informative newsletter!