Metro Online caps first decade with national award
The Metro Online team was honored at Monday's County Council
meeting (click photo to enlarge 75K).
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has recognized the King County
Department of Transportation's Metro
Online website as one of the "Top
Transit Traveler Information Websites" in the nation. Only four winners
were chosen for this prestigious award in 2004.
The winners were selected after a national review and ranking of more than
1,400 websites. The sites were evaluated for their content and usability.
The FTA believes that websites such as Metro Online help improve service to
customers by making transit system information available 24 hours a day.
Websites eliminate time spent waiting for customer assistance in telephone
queues and free up transit agency employees to provide other services.
The national award validates King County
Executive Ron Sims' goal to have county services available 24-7 via the
Internet.
"King County residents are among the most wired on the planet," said Sims.
"They expect and deserve services and information at their fingertips. King
County recognized this need several years ago, and has worked hard to create a
seamless web of online information.
"Metro Online has always been out in front of this countywide effort," said
Sims, "and I am extremely proud of the creative and innovative employees who
have developed this website over the past 10 years. This award from the FTA is
for them."
Metro Online is celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2004. It was initially
known as "Riderlink," and developed to help employers provide transit
information to employees looking for commute options. But the popularity of
the online bus schedules inspired Metro staff to expand the website well
beyond its original parameters.
Riderlink became Metro Online in February 1998, and the web site has been
redesigned twice. Online tools for bus passengers have been expanded many
times:
Pass Sales online went live October 30, 2000
Online Trip Planner - December 4, 2001
Live Help for Lost & Found - May 29, 2003
Printable Timetables - June 9, 2003
Commuter Trip Plans - August 11, 2003
Point-to-Point schedules - December 23, 2003
 The
second major redesign of the site took place in 2002 and was based on
extensive customer feedback. Goals for the redesign were: increase exposure
and usage of Metro Online's most popular information features and
applications; and increase sales for the online pass products.
That redesign produced immediate results for the online pass store. Within one
month, sales increased 20 percent and have grown steadily since that time.
Overall, customer usage of Metro Online has skyrocketed since the last
redesign. Today, daily average usage is more than 12,000 visits each day - or
approximately 4.3 million visits annually by the end of 2004. That is almost
an 80 percent increase from before the last redesign. The online Trip Planner
has more than 7,000 daily visitors - who generate more than 16,000
personalized itineraries each day.
The popularity of Metro Online has spurred other online transit services such
as the Pass Sales store and Lost and Found's live chat. Ten years ago, none of
Metro's customer services were provided online. Today, more than 75 percent of
King County Metro's customer information contacts are via Metro Online.
"I think Metro Online is successful, because it is so customer friendly -
especially for people who don't want to spend a lot of time wading through web
pages," said Metropolitan King County
Councilmember Dwight Pelz,
chair of the Council's Transportation Committee. "The site is simple, clean,
easy to navigate, and provides valuable information at a glance."
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Take a holiday trip back in time on Saturday, Dec. 11 as the Metro
Employees Historic Vehicle Association (MEHVA) hosts a holiday light
tour via vintage buses.
The boarding zone is in Pioneer Square at Main Street and Second
Avenue South, across the street from the fire station. The six holiday
buses depart at 7 p.m., and it's first-come-first-served. The trip
lasts about 2-1/2 hours.
Fares are $5 for adults, $4 for seniors (65 and over) and $4 for
children (2-11). Metro transfers, tickets, or passes are not accepted.
Please, no food or beverages onboard the historic buses.
For more information, visit the
MEHVA website.Top
King County residents at higher and mid-level elevations got their
first taste of snow over the weekend, but it didn't result in much
work for the King County
Road Services Division because it didn't stick around for long.
The county crew up in Skykomish did have to do some road plowing over
the weekend, but that's not unusual for the county's northernmost
community - nor is it the first time the plows have been out up there
this year. In the rest of the county, the crews just stayed on watch
for any accumulations or icy spots on the roads.
By the end of this week, warm rains could return to the forecast
bringing lowland flooding. Whether it's snow or rain, the crews will
be standing by to keep county roads safe for all travelers.
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 Here is a list of King County Department of Transportation projects that may disrupt traffic and travel in the coming weeks:
Northeast 124th Street, north of Redmond - Work is finishing up
on the
Northeast 124th Street project between Willows Road and
State Route 202. Most of the work is concentrated at the bridge
over the Sammamish River.
South 277th Street, between Auburn and Kent - Motorists may experience
periodic traffic disruptions on
South 277th Street between the West Valley
Highway and 72nd Avenue South through October 2005 as a result of a major
reconstruction project.
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