MetroRiderLA

Trainjotting, a blog about commuting to and from Manhattan, posted a link to a website called StationStops that, among other things, provides HTML formatted schedules for the Metro-North Railroad. What does this have to do with Los Angeles transit? If you recall, one of my biggest gripes about the Metro website is that schedules (an nearly everything else) are provided only in the PDF format. For those who aren’t aware, PDF files require an external program for viewing and are made specifically for print, not the web. Because of this they are an obtrusive, annoying, and unwieldy way to share important information on the internet. Unfortunately, most transit agencies don’t seem to know squat about basic web usability guidelines, and thus PDF schedules are something of an industry standard. Apparently, the New York MTA adheres to this silly standard, and StationStops decided to take matters into their own hands and formated schedules for the Metro-North Railroad in easy to read/print/copy/paste HTML. The results speak for themselves. I invite you to compare the StationStops HTML schedule for the New Haven Line with the NYC MTA’s PDF schedule of the same line. Which one is easier to read?

Here at home, Metrolink smartly offers HTML schedules in addition to the traditional PDF ones, but they could learn a thing or two from StationStops clean and simple tables. Instead of trying to emulate the PDF tables, which must contend with the non interactive limitations of print, they should be customized for ease of use and interactivity on the web.

Metro, and all transit agencies, need to realize that PDF is reserved for high quality print applications, not web based tables. HTML was specifically created to present tabular information on the web, so it’s insane to present schedules in any other way. Schedules are some of the most important information a transit rider needs and thus should be presented in a way that’s easy to access, read, and print.

Links about PDF:

• PDF: Unfit for Human Consumption
• PDF’s are evil, lazy, slothful and sinful
• Facts and Opinions About PDF Accessibility
• When to use PDF