T looking to get new beta site on track
A lot of MBTA subway cars might be relics of a bygone era, but the transit agency is finally moving into the 21st century with a mobile-friendly website. “More than 60 percent of current MBTA.com visitors are on mobile devices, despite the fact that it was built before the first iPhone was released,” David BlockSchachter, the T's chief technology officer, said about the site. That needs to change. So the MBTA has been working on a complete redesign of its website, the early version of which is now available for testdriving at https://beta.mbta.com/. The features you'll find on the brand-spanking-new beta are ones you'd generally expect of a site in 2017, Block-Schachter said in an email. The main objectives, he said, were to: “(1) make it more accessible for the entire community that uses the T; (2) make it more mobile friendly — more than 60 percent of our 80k+ website users every day are on mobile devices; (3) focus the site on how people actually use it — for schedules, real time and fare information.” The new site dovetails with the MBTA's overall app strategy, which includes its endorsement of Transit App. “Our goal is to make it easy to use all modes of the T for all people, and digital services are one way of making that happen,” he said. “When people know when their next bus or train is arriving, they can spend less time waiting, and better plan their days.” The final design is still TBD. “We are running a modern, iterative process, taking into account user feedback at each step,” Block-Schachter said. “The release to the public allows us to expand the scope of feedback we have thus far gotten. Over the coming months we will be using this feedback as a jumping off point to make revisions and add new features, and gradually replacing the current MBTA.com site.”