> News+Events > Features > Transit - June 2009

Metro Transit makes navigating online route schedules easier

Metro Transit’s new online schedule tool makes bus and rail route information easier to view and more current.

According to a recent customer survey by Metro Transit, accessing route information is one of the main reasons people visit Metro Transit's website.

Fifty-seven percent of bus riders and 67 percent of train riders say they use the agency’s website primarily for this purpose.

No longer will customers have to open a large portable document format (PDF) file on their computers to view or print a route schedule. The new system replaces those files with detailed information on a web page, with maps and timetables that are easy to view and formatted to print on standard-size paper.

“Our printed schedules contain a lot of information, and PDF files of the schedules were sometimes difficult to view and print,” said General Manager Brian Lamb. “The new format makes it easier for customers to get schedule information, read everything on their computer screens, or print schedules and maps if they want to take them along.”

How the online tool works

To get schedule information, customers access a web page that provides a listing of all regional routes in a drop-down menu. Once a route is chosen, the automated system provides information such as approximate frequency of the route, the main destinations it serves, a general route map and timetables.

Customers can click links to move among weekday, Saturday and Sunday/holiday timetables and change the direction of travel.

The new system also increases the accuracy of schedule information. PDF files were updated only as often as schedules were reprinted. The new online schedule tool is tied directly to the agency’s route scheduling software system, which is updated weekly.

Customers are encouraged to try the new system and report any issues they encounter through a feedback form. The website also provides a link to the old format of printed schedules in PDF files.