New 511-ized transitinfo available
Hank Fung
http://198.94.156.7/register/
or http://198.94.156.204/, u/p preview/transit
GOOD: They don't PDF-ize all the schedules, so you can still view them
as usual.
They will have special interfaces for palm and wireless devices (which
will probably be better for dial up users too).
The mapping system is flexible.
The "popular destinations" section is extremely useful.
BAD: What the hell is "skip navigation"? Something else might be better.
The mapping system is terrible. Why don't they use the existing maps
from the existing transit providers? They still work.
Some providers, mainly smaller ones, still redirect to transitinfo.
The interface is a bit too cluttered.
Why are schedules displayed in a little box?
VERDICT: Overall, there are new features on the site, but they could
have been integrated into the overall Transitinfo site with the
current interface. Speed of the site was not rated since this is a new
product.
With the way the site displays schedules, a PDF might actually be better.
They should give the option between PDF and the text-only version.
The interface is confusing, but then again Bay Area transit is confusing,
with several large providers and many minors. Still, they could do a
better job.
I would start by putting the trip planner on the front page, since that
will be the feature most people want. Stop using a pull-down for the
schedules and just list the providers alphabetically, categorized
by region. Pull downs are annoying because I hate scrolling through a
list of 50 or so items until I find what I want. I don't particularly
mind the stuff on the left hand side, although I do mind the fact
that some navigation is on the left and some on the right.
OVERALL: On a straight scale, I give this a 60.
Curved with other transit web sites I am familiar with, I would give
the new transit.511.org a C.
(I would have given the old transitinfo a 80 which would qualify it
for a B+.)
--
Hank Fung fun...@ocf.berkeley.edu
David MR
"Hank Fung" <fun...@OCF.Berkeley.EDU> wrote in message
news:bms0hg$t0s$1...@agate.berkeley.edu...
> And it's not pretty.
>
> http://198.94.156.7/register/
> or http://198.94.156.204/, u/p preview/transit
>
> GOOD: They don't PDF-ize all the schedules, so you can still view them
> as usual.
is the best way to do this (as you allude to below) There should be a page
for online viewing and, after clicking print view, the PDF should show up.
Speaking of print view: What's the purpose of a print view for the menu?
Michael Kincaid
> Not so good. I'd like to be able to have one that can be printed out. PDF
> is the best way to do this (as you allude to below)
Not necessarily... I'd argue that a printer-friendly HTML version is a
better way to do a printable schedule.
Dairenn Lombard
to figure out where I need to go since I don't live in the Santa Clara Valley.
--
Dairenn Lombard <dlom...@base-ix.com>
Los Angeles, CA - http://www.base-ix.com/~dlombard/
Base-IX Communications, coming 2004
Darin McGrew
> BAD: What the hell is "skip navigation"? Something else might be better.
It's a workaround.
Users of non-graphical browsers get stuck wading through all the navigation
links that come before the real content. Rather than move the real content
earlier in the document, site designers create links at the beginning of
the page that are virtually invisible with graphical browsers (single pixel
transparent images). On non-graphical browsers, the ALT text (usually "Skip
Navigation" or something similar) is used instead of the image, and the
user has a way to go directly to the content.
--
Darin McGrew, mcg...@stanfordalumni.org, http://www.rahul.net/mcgrew/
Web Design Group, da...@htmlhelp.com, http://www.HTMLHelp.com/
"It said 'Insert disk #3', but only two will fit..."