MBTA 2.0

[Posted On December 15th, 2006, by andrew]

The MBTA launched it’s new web 2.0-ified site today.

Dear MBTA Rider,

Thank you once again for participating in the MBTA website redesign survey this summer. Your feedback helped us create a new website with tools and navigation designed to meet your needs.

We’ll be launching the new website tomorrow and think you’ll enjoy some of these new features and improvements:

* Dynamic system and route maps integrated with Google
* MyMBTA—a feature that lets you save trips, addresses and routes
* Additions to Trip Planner and Service Nearby
* New Customer Support section
* Up to the minute Service Updates
* More features coming soon—like downloads for your ipod!

Even after the new site launches, we will continue to find ways to incorporate customer ideas and make your mbta.com experience the best it can be. During the launch, please feel free to comment by using the ‘Website feedback” link located at the bottom of each page.

Thanks for your participation, and we hope you enjoy the new mbta.com!

Best regards,
The MBTA Website Redesign Team

First impressions are that it can’t possibly be worse than the old site, and it doesn’t appear to be. This doesn’t necessarily mean it is a marked improvement either. Shiny graphics and “interactive” features aside, I am curious to dig in a bit more and see if this is something that will really do what the MBTA site should do…make it easy to get quick and accurate information. Knowing the MBTA, things are rarely quick and hardly ever accurate, so we’ll see.

One thing that is clearly missing, but something I see as being crucial to the average MBTA user, is a mobile version of the site, or at least easily accessible mobile maps and schedules. Nine times out of ten, when I want to cross reference a location with a T stop, I am on the move, and have access to my Blackberry, not a full internet connection on a laptop or regular computer.

Another would be RSS or sms/email alerts for service updates and re-routing. As much as I like to plan on taking the C line someplace, only to get down to Cleveland Circle to find that it is bus service to St Mary’s for the day, it would certainly be helpful (for riders and the T alike) to have this information get to the riders more efficiently.