Via Erica Barnett, I see that King County Metro’s site has gotten a bit of a facelift. I like how they’ve bubbled up some of the more important content right there on the home page (like the trip planner). Sadly, it appears that the redesign is only skin-deep, as clicking on any of the links takes you to an interior page that’s pretty much unchanged. Nice top-level navigation bar even goes away, which is kind of a usability no-no.
Still, a solid effort, and hopefully only a first step. One new feature worth noting is the “Eye on your Commute” blog, which Metro explains thusly:
Just as traffic reporters alert motorists of spot problems on roadways, Metro’s own “transit reporters” are launching another online product, “Eye on Your Metro Commute.” As part of the pilot project, they will monitor information coming into Metro’s Transit Control Center during daily morning and afternoon commutes and will share what they are hearing. Our reporters will be looking for spot problems that could delay or disrupt bus service. Those delays could be caused by a major accident, road closure, or significant transit operational issue. Updates will then be posted on Metro Online’s home page. You can also subscribe to an RSS feed to receive the updates on your PC or small-screen mobile device.
Metro Transit General Manager Kevin Desmond explains Metro’s new web tools.
“Eye on Your Metro Commute” will operate Monday through Friday from 6 a.m.- 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.-7 p.m. The pilot will run through the end of 2009 and may be extended following an evaluation of the service.
So, despite the fact that it’s hosted on WordPress, it’s not really a blog, per se, but more of an alert service. I guess we shouldn’t expect any pictures of LOLcats to be posted at 3am. A nice use of free tools, in any event, and I’ve added the feed to the news feeds on the right.
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