A Strategic Website Evolution to Combine Multiple Service Lines & Optimize User Experience

For rabbittransit, a transportation provider whose services span 10 Pennsylvania counties, the organization’s website is a critical hub to connect riders and community stakeholders with key information and services. Following a 2018 website redesign that resulted in a custom two-site multi-site setup for the organization’s two brands, the GRIT team had the opportunity to partner with rabbit on a large-scale website optimization when those brands merged under the rabbittransit flagship brand. The mission was to create a cohesive experience that ensured clear delivery of the widely expanded service offerings, while maintaining needed separation for service line differences such as fares, policies, etc.

Custom Schedule Management Capabilities

Seamless schedule management was of paramount importance to the original build. To help create an optimized and efficient path for schedule updates (which had previously been managed manually and were often time consuming), GRIT crafted a custom WordPress integration to leverage the organization’s GTFS schedule data as the backbone for schedule management on the website. This allowed online schedules to be seamlessly updated via uploading the GTFS data already created. When the site merger occurred, GRIT worked with the rabbittransit team to evolve the site setup to accommodate two separate GTFS file packages still maintained for the service lines, but ensured they could be delivered in a single site experience.

Rider Resources at the Ready

A critical part of the original site build was to clearly and effectively present rider information, resources and tools. The site refresh presented an opportunity to leverage site analytics data gained since the original site launch to further optimize delivery of these key resources to make them even easier for riders to find and use.

A Focus on Compliance

Through every iteration of the site, GRIT ensured compliance and accessibility were the heart of design and development decisions. This included delivering ADA Level AA compliance, language translation and meeting other industry-specific compliance requirements.

A Dedication to Partnership & Delivering True Value

At GRIT, a key part of the way we approach website design and development focuses on creating an online experience that meets our clients where they are AND is prepared to grow and evolve with them into the future. Technology changes fast and design trends can change faster. Our goal is to create websites that can withstand the test of time and deliver a great value for clients. Having the opportunity to collaborate with the rabbittransit team on the initial design and development of their dual sites was an exciting challenge. Being able to help them utilize their existing framework and maximize their investment for a strategic refresh (built on their original site backbone) that reflects the organization’s evolution and prepares them to move into the future was truly an honor.

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