blogTO Recent Comments: Bloggers Help TTC Website

DingDong

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 13:10:25 PDT

I love how they've split up the massive map PDF's. It's so much nicer to download/open/use those PDF's now. That was my main annoyance on the old website. They should have an interactive Flash version of the maps too with bus-route hilighting. As soon as you hover your mouse over the red line, it should light up and you would instantly see what station it goes too, and how far the route goes. It's a no brainer, and much easier than following the line and looking at numbers.

Poor TTC website

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 22:50:52 PDT

TTC Website is really disappointment. Even the new version, Do so hardly to deliver a trip planner????!!!!

Olivia

Tue, 02 Oct 2007 11:55:25 PDT

I recently moved here from Vancouver and agree that the TTC website is horrible. As a newcomer, it is extremely difficult to find out how to go from one place to another. The pdf map provided is not user friendly nor printable. A trip planner is definitely needed. The website a huge disappointment for a large city like Toronto. It's not hard to look for improvement inspiration...try looking at Vancouver's transit website: http://www.translink.bc.ca

mohamed

Mon, 30 Jul 2007 13:54:20 PDT

I have used the Danish journey planner, and if Toronto was to get a similar site, we would clearly be a global city. Here is the link.

http://www.rejseplanen.dk/bin/query.exe/en

Wes

Thu, 01 Feb 2007 00:00:00 PST

So what's up? What did you actually send them over there at the TTC? What were your top 10 picks? Are you going to let us all know?

Sameer Vasta

Sat, 20 Jan 2007 16:50:46 PST

As a transit service, the tube puts the TTC to shame, but I must admit...people in this city love the TTC more than anyone will ever love the Underground. And that's evident in the way people talk about, treat, and use the services.

Jerrold

Sat, 20 Jan 2007 13:54:37 PST

Thanks, Sameer! How does the underground compare?

Sameer Vasta

Sat, 20 Jan 2007 12:10:52 PST

Hey Jerrold, you know that phone schedule system? Well Spacing has a great article on it right now.

Mark Kuznicki

Tue, 16 Jan 2007 11:22:14 PST

Inspired by these posts, a small crew of BarCamp Toronto mavens gathered at the Radiant Core offices to bring together this feedback and our own thoughts on a Better Way for the TTC website. It's very comprehensive. Check it out here.

AnnaM

Mon, 15 Jan 2007 12:48:18 PST

My 2 cents worth: 1. Yes, an interactive guide is a great idea - I've checked out the ones mentioned in comments above and they don't work so well for me (tomapster.com wanted me to walk down to Bloor from Davenport and sent me far away from my intended destination). 2. Show where the stops are - showing the lines are great, but I want to know which stop I'm getting off at if I'm taking the bus/streetcar somewhere new. 3. The St Clair construction has been so frustrating - the stop location at Bathurst & St Clair changes daily sometimes. It would be wonderful if I could check the site before I left the house in the morning to find out where I should be going instead of wandering around like a moron! 4. finally, the obvious need for a more esthetically pleasing site, most kids are creating nicer looking sites these days.

Jerrold

Fri, 12 Jan 2007 17:37:38 PST

Bring back the automated phone schedule system! I used it all the time when it was in place, and miss it now.

Wes

Fri, 12 Jan 2007 17:26:07 PST

One other thing... If TTC can't list times for each stop along a route... they should atleast let you pick any route and see the 1st and last bus leaves/arrives from/at either end of that route... and how often it runs at different hours on different days. If it's late at night and you want to go home from somewhere but are unfamiliar with the routes you would need to take and don't know which routes have stopped running, you could find yourself waiting out in the cold for nothing. Not all stops have a schedule posted by them to let you know.

none

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 13:20:40 PST

pay your cash fares with pennies.

Wes

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 02:10:35 PST

Hello, My suggestion would be this: Have the ability to turn off the display of all bus and streetcar routes except user chosen ones. This will allow for a clear and unfettered view of a route(s). Next, have the ability to turn on and off the display and selection of stops along each selected route... maybe have one colour for stops in one direction, and another colour for the opposite direction. Have these stops or coloured micro dots selectable, where upon a time schedule will pop up and can be read and/or printed for that specific stop. TTC already has time schedules listed at most of their stops, and undoubtedly have this information on file. It would be unfeasible for them to update the sign at each and every stop along a route whenever the schedule changes, but would be a snap to do online once they have the site properly set-up for it. Also, it would be nice to be able to turn on and off the display of major landmarks around the city, for instance, the AGO or Kensington Market... this would help in quickly locating points of interest, and should automatically scale down in size (keep their size, relative to screen size) as you zoom into the map. If you hold your cursor over these landmarks, a pop-up balloon with information would appear. Finally, it would be a big bonus to somehow see street numbering along selected routes... maybe at every 100th door or so. Another feature that could be turned on and off perhaps? Of course, I could just google an address to find that out,... or call the business... but if you want a SUPER TTC site, it's just one last suggestion. Hope you like some of my ideas... I just wanted to add my two cents worth. Thanks,

V

Tue, 09 Jan 2007 17:08:49 PST

Hire a graphic design studio specializing in interactive design. I am convinced some studios might be willing to help at a lower cost. For help you can contact the RGD (Registered Graphic Designers of Ontario).

Max

Tue, 09 Jan 2007 13:35:58 PST

A hand held app called Metr0 at http://www.nanika.net/Metro/ with a current database would be great.

Dimitri

Tue, 09 Jan 2007 01:17:50 PST

For all those who are asking for a TTC, and maybe even a GTA trip planner based on Google maps. This is a trip planner that let's you plan routes using GO buses/trains and TTC Subway with TTC Buses coming soon. www.tomapster.com You enter start and end addresses and it finds a route for you. It provides walking directions to get to and from stations. There are a number of cool features such as Click and Go, you just click two points and the system figures out the route between them. The website also allows displaying overview of all subway lines and GO trains and buses. contact: dimitri.gnidash@gmail.com

Kevin McLaughlin

Mon, 08 Jan 2007 13:28:28 PST

Be sure to include "private transit" operators (eg AutoShare, Greyhound, even taxis which already have stands at stations like Finch) in any mapping projects.

Also, we used to be able to "call" any bus stop to find out when the next bus was coming. This was a (the only?) Y2K casualty, and could come back via web. Kevin McLaughlin AutoShare

Dave Thom

Mon, 08 Jan 2007 09:31:20 PST

I agree that the TTC website is atrocious. The TTC may get away with 1950's subway station design, 1930's mixed-running traffic and being the last transit agency on the planet to use tokens but you can't stop time when it comes to web tools. My main problem though is not so much with the website itself as the representation of the various modes of transit available in Toronto. For starters, there should be a rapid-transit map that looks more like this than a map that just shows the relatively sparse subway lines. This would help differentiate between bus routes and streetcar routes, something that is almost impossible for tourists to figure out from the current maps. Other suggestions - realtime service advisories during delays (like New York), trip planners, suggested travel routes and times for the most popular routes (like to the airport or stadiums), and, god help us, an email suggestion box. Pretending that if you can't see the complaints they don't exist is no way to run a public agency. Other model websites: DART, BART and SMRT.

Jonathan

Sat, 06 Jan 2007 22:02:03 PST

Lifehacker users discussed Google Transit here. Check out http://hopstop.com/. New Yorkers swear by it and their subway system (plus co-operation with longer-haul & commuter lines like the Metro North, trains that go to diff. airports) dwarfs ours at present. Dependable and user-friendly, in my experience. Peep it.