Posted Dec. 16 at 12:22 p.m.
Update: Tony Coppoletta at CTA - the Manageof External Electronic Communications is the man behind the transitchicago.com "Extreme Home Page Makeover."
Awww yeah, it's business time. I know I've been lazy with the posts, due to my "Going Public" and "Hey, CTA!" hustle, but I had to mention some news of the day.
The CTA has launched a new sexy-looking site. Check it out at www.transitchicago.com. This much more image-oriented and seemingly more navigation-friendly effort just popped up today and the CTA already sent out a press release congratulating itself for the move. Thank you, and you're welcome.
I'll post more here later, including (hopefully) an answer to RedEye Twitterer questions about whodunnit. In the meantime, some initial observations:
1. Loving the merchandise that is being pimped out front on the site. It's engaging, colorful and I support anything that helps the agency get its money right.
2. Kudos on the Brown Line construction link. I've been a fan of their microsite with Brown Line updates, but enough riders ask me questions about what is going on that I sensed it should be more prominent. Done, and done.
3. Big ups to the system alerts on the right-hand corner letting you know the service construction status on various areas of the rail.
4. Not liking that hokey looking holiday train image, but in all, I do think that the icons are helpful throughout the page.
Thoughts? Do you likee? Want to do a Mr. Blackwell-style dressdown of the site makeover? Have at it!
5 Comments
Sean said:
I love the look of the new CTA site! It's got a nice simple but useful look, it's easy on the eyes and the different boxes really draw your eyes in. The top-level navigation is informative and relevant and the drop down menus are sensible and the sidebar widgets are great. To all the folks involved in this...great job!!
Tom Moore said:
A reader in today's print edition mentioned how they liked the fact that one driver greets every rider. Well, for me, that is completely irritating! If you're trying to read and the driver loudly greets and chats, it can be VERY annoying. Plus, I am often worried when certain drivers are too busy greeting and not paying attention to traffic and driving properly. Politeness is good, greeting and other chatting should be limited.
Ty said:
I have to admit, I like the new website... it even included info about delays on the bus (although this morning, there probably should've been an entry that read 'CATASTROPHIC DELAYS, NOTHING IS MOVING').
RK said:
All I can say is that Detroit, again, is trendsetting in slowly but surely disbanding the "entitled" UAW. The same needs to be done, and will eventually, with the CTA. After the January 5th incident that took me 2 full hours to get 4.2 miles from the north side of Chicago to Evanston - I finally have legitimate reason to proclaim that this dysfunctional organization a.k.a. CTA be dismantled down via Federal intervention. It will happen.
I won't even get into the fiasco regarding my $75 30 day pass that read "invalid" on each bus and train station 3 days after I purchased it and the lack of attention by Ms. Dewberry at the CTA. Soon people will have to work for a paycheck in the USA.
TimP said:
Did Kyra fall off the face of the planet or something ? I miss the CTA blog!
"GOING PUBLIC" SAYS: No, Tim...I'm lost somewhere inside G-Rod's hairdo. Just kidding. I'm trying some new things with my column in the paper, so I haven't spent a lot of time online, but here I am.
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