How a mobile friendly website streamlined a regional transit authority’s scheduling and user services.

Overview:

A local public transportation company needed to redesign its website to better manage route schedules, fares, and ticket buying. The client’s site lacked a centralized database, which made changing schedules and fluctuating ticket prices laborious to manage. No online payment options were in place, only invoices that needed to be printed and submitted via mail. The client complained that their subscription based third-party tool to handle customer communication was costly, and had many features they would never use.

Issues:

• Lack of a centralized database
• No online sales capability
• Time-consuming updates
• Increasing monthly costs

Resolution:

Redesigned the website as a mobile friendly SEO optimized web application with a .NET Framework back end and MS SQL Server that condensed all spreadsheets into a single, centralized database. Simplified route schedule updates by feeding data directly into the appropriate forms and display pages. Created an online ticket sales system tied to the client’s merchant account and built several custom tools to handle rider alerts and news feeds. The customer communication system paid for itself within a year-and-a-half; 8 years since its implementation it has saved the client tens of thousands of dollars. Once the client saw the power of our custom applications, they contracted additional designs. A a news subscription service was created to keep riders abreast of real-time detours and news via their preference of email or text message, and a real-time bus tracking system allowed riders to access live data on bus arrivals.

Features:

• Online ticket sales
• Real-time detour information on site, with email or text notification options
• Real-time posting of news and updates
• Real-time arrivals and bus-tracking maps
• Customer accounts
  • Subscription customization to receive only relevant information in real-time
  • Shopping cart

• Role-based security system allowing various degrees of access
• Tools to create subscriber alerts via email or text
• Content management systems for display on public site
• Search engine optimization (SEO)