MetroRiderLA

Well, the new forum has been kickin’ it for a few days now. So far 18 readers have signed up to take part in the discussions, and over 260 unique visitors have checked it out. We want more of both, especially active users! There’s some interesting conversations going on:

• We’re compiling a list of LA’s transit system in film and television
• A discussion about how you are treated by your non-transit friendly peers
• At least 17 comments about how Metrolink is considering doing away with the EZ-Pass transfer
• A thread all about biking in Los Angeles
• And a new post about love on the subway

So as you can see, things are pretty laid back, the conversations are varied, and everyone is welcome to participate. If you haven’t done so already, I recommend you check it out and if you like what you see, register to become a member and join the discussions! The more people who are talking, the more interesting it will get.

Clever Commute, a peer-to-peer tool intended to help train commuters, is the creation of New Jersey based IT-guy Joshua Crandall, a man with whom I had the opportunity to chat with about his efforts to bring CC to Los Angeles over a french dip sandwich at Philippe’s a couple of weeks ago. At lunch Josh told me about how he created Clever Commute in 2006 as a way for he and his commuting buddies to inform each other of any delays down the line. He set up a simple email list, and if any one on the list experienced a delay or noticed a problem, they’d simply whip out their trusty Blackberry (a prerequisite for commuters) and send a short message to the list describing the problem. Every member of the list would then get that warning and viola, plans could be adjusted accordingly.

Clever Commute has grown like wildfire since its humble beginnings. Once word of mouth caught on in New York, everyone wanted a piece of the action. Crandall set up his official website, clevercommute.com, so people could sign up to become a member of a list for their particular line. In New York there are now over 20 commuter rail lines, 5 commuter bus lines, 4 light rail lines, and 2 ferry lines that have active lists of Clever Commuters informing each other of delays and setbacks. Thousands of New Yorkers rely on Clever Commute daily to keep them informed of the transit situation. According to Crandall, after the New York Times caught wind of the phenomenon and wrote a story about it, things really blew up. Suddenly other cities were interested in the technology. Boston was the first on board and now has 10 commuter rail lines covered. Chicago, San Francisco, Portland, and DC are all experimenting with the technology.

And now Josh is bringing it to LA.

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Ahh, the audacity of hope… for a car-free future.

Last week, Metro released to the public their Draft Long Range Transportation Plan. The LRTP is a document that looks to assess and address the transportation needs of the Los Angeles area for the next 25 years.  A quarter of a century is a pretty big number, it’s hard to say if I’ll still be blogging when I’m 52, but if I am I’ll be able to link back to this post and review how the plan was implemented.

The next 40 days are crucial for the next 25 years, since Metro is allowing public comment on their plan until April 25th.   In order to encourage people to get involved, Metro has launched the Barrack Obama inspired “Imagine” campaign, in which Metro asks people to imagine a better future.  Yes we can!

The Imagine campaign may be Metro’s best marketing campaign yet.  It’s certainly the most complete.  The LRTP document[PDF] itself is beautifully designed, with inspiring photography that spans pages and equally inspiring copy.  The website is bold, colorful, easy to navigate, and interactive.  There’s even what I believe to be a Metro first… a blog! The blog even accepts comments.  There’s also a full on advertising assault, with billboards and posters promoting the Imagine campaign popping up all over the city.

Such audacity!

Join the conversation about the Long Range Transportation Plan in the new MetroRiderLA Forum.

Metro has officially launched the first phase of what it calls its “interactive video wall”, or Metro Interactive. Currently the site features various videos intended to “help customers and visitors more easily navigate Los Angeles”. It is also the new home of Metro Board Chair Pam O’Connor’s infamous online chats. Future plans for the site include: blogs, polls, user uploads, and live streaming video. Metro views Metro Interactive as “a tool to help us reach out to our customers”. Let’s see how phase one fares with this discerning customer.

First Impressions

Thankfully, Metro decided to go with a unique domain (or at least a subdomain) with Metro Interactive. Unlike Miss Traffic, which was hidden three directories deep in the Metro site, Metro Interactive can be reach by simply typing multimedia.metro.net into your web browser. Doing so will lead you to a site with the clean visual design that has been successfully standardized throughout Metro. Bold colors and imagery on a clean grid are complimented with the serious but friendly Scala Sans font. The header pays homage to the silhouettes of th now iconic iPod advertisements, portraying an image of a person holding a video camera. The site seems a little barren, with a sizable chunk of empty space in the top right corner, but keep in mind that this is the first-phase. Plus, less-is-more is always a good philosophy when it comes to design. One strange visual flaw is an unnecessarily low resolution Metro logo at the top of the page.

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