When RTA launched the new rideRTA.com in April 2013, it was very well-received by the public. The design was fresh and new, and a wider range of information was more quickly accessible. The site offered a fuller, more information-rich experience to everyone, including (and, some might say, especially) mobile device users, who make up about 70 percent of the Web site audience.
But there was still one nagging concern -- the schedules. Specifically, the HTML timetables. The sheer number of trips and stops available on some routes could make referencing a schedule on a low-resolution or small screen device a poor-quality experience, as there was still a need for vertical and horizontal scrolling.
Not any more!
RTA's timetables are now even more mobile-friendly. Here are some of the mobile enhancements RTA made:
- A "hamburger" menu on most of timetables (those with more than 4 defined timepoints) allows you to choose only those timepoints that you want to see. There's a separate menu for each direction of each timetable, since most schedules don't have stops that mirror each other in each direction.
- Provided your browser accepts cookies, your choices will be stored, so once you set up YOUR timetable the way YOU want, you won't need to do so again, until the next service change. This is the ONLY thing these cookies are used for.
- To ensure that nobody misses any possible changes we might make to our timepoints, all timetable cookies will be set to expire at the date of the next service change.
- Timepoint headings will be repeated periodically, so that you'll never again wonder what column you're looking at.
- When you load the timetable, the next three departures in each direction, based on the current time and the timepoints that are visible, will be highlighted in blue.
These features are optional. You don't have to use them if you don't want to. But, if you do you use them, we want to know what you think. Likes, dislikes, bugs, suggestions for other improvements -- we want to hear it all. E-mail webmaster@gcrta.org with your thoughts, and we'll work together to make everyone's experience on rideRTA.com more useful and informative.