I do a lot of web development work. One of the things I’ve always noticed, which has bothered me, is how horrible most transit websites are. So I’ve put together a list and am hoping I can get some feedback from users. Once I get the user feedback I’m going to roll together a report of actual usability on each of the sites compared to each other. With that said, here’s the list.
- TriMet – http://www.trimet.org/ Of course, I’ve got to include the hometown site. Portland, Oregon & surrounding areas.
- NJ Transit – http://www.njtransit.com New Jersey Transit.
- MTA – http://www.mta.info/ Metropolitan Transportation Authority – This is the subway and more in the New York area.
- MARTA – http://www.itsmarta.com/ Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority.
- SFMTA / MUNI – http://www.sfmta.com/ San Francisco Municipal Transportation Authority.
- BART – http://www.bart.gov/ Bay Area Rapid Transit
- CTA – http://www.transitchicago.com/ Chicago Transit Authority
- Miami-Dade Transit – http://www.miamidade.gov/transit/metrorail.asp
- M or Metro – http://www.metro.net/ Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
- DART – http://www.dart.org/ Dallas Area Rapid Transit
- King County Metro Transit – http://metro.kingcounty.gov/
- Sound Transit – http://www.soundtransit.org/
- Pierce Transit – http://www.piercetransit.org/
- Valley Metro – http://www.valleymetro.org/
- RTA – http://www.norta.com/ – New Orleans Region Transit Authority
The following sites are more specific, not to general transit, but to a specific company or line.
Transit Sleuth 
As someone who also works in web development (specifically, SEO / online marketing), C-Tran’s old website was a TRAIN WRECK (frames, anyone?). Fortunately, their site redesign is fairly functional.
I’ll take a look at the sites you’ve listed when I’ve got some free time 🙂
I would be sure to include DC Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority – http://www.wmata.com/ and Boston – MBTA – http://www.mbta.com in the list especial as I think they both are near the top of the heap, especially DC, and a useful comparison.
Funny you should ask this question because on Monday I ended up renting a car because I couldn’t figure out how to get from my condo in Midtown Phoenix to an area just south of here off of I-10 by bus. I had a meeting for work, so I didn’t want to risk missing it all because I couldn’t figure things out. Now, having said that, I’ll admit I should’ve planned ahead and maybe checked the routes and schedules the day before instead of that morning.
OK, here’s my beef: The trip planner does not take exact addresses, only cross streets where there is a bus or lightrail stop. So if you’re unfamiliar with your destination, and that person at your destination doesn’t use a bus and has no idea where a stop at the destination is located, you’re kinda screwed. The trip planner gives you so many destination possibilities that you might as well cover your eyes with one hand and pick one of the choices with the other.
Uggh.. I hate admitting all this because I don’t want to discourage people from taking the bus – but sometimes bus trips to outlying areas here in the Valley can be a challenge to figure out if you’re an inexperienced transit passenger.
My definition of horrible: Any transit Web site that only offers its schedules as PDF files and doesn’t bother to have HTML versions.
Great stories Adron, your Northwest region is so progressive in comparison to Detroit- a 500 square mile transit impoverished wasteland with a skeletal bus system that’s near liquidation…
It’s comical how LK from PR comes after you! But any discussion about public transport is good—since so little about the subject is covered in the mainstream media—underwritten by the sprawlmasters: oil, auto, insurance & drive-thru fast food conglomerates that preach ‘drive-in, drive-out, drive-on, keep movin, keep slurping that oil’…