Lake County, OH – Laketran released the redesign and enhancement of their website, laketran.com, today.  Laketran worked with Willoughby-based digital design and marketing firm, Blackbird Interactive, to build a more customer-focused responsive website that presents optimal viewing and interaction whether you access the website from a desktop, tablet or cell phone.

In an effort to improve the customer experience from the previous site, Laketran focused on several key technology upgrades to plan transit trips and display real-time information about the bus routes.  Along with a clean mobile-friendly interface that offers easy navigation, the site offers click-to-call buttons for Dial-a-Ride reservations, search capabilities, bus pass purchasing, rider alerts, and an interactive map that locates all 750 bus stops along Laketran’s ten routes.

“There were two main goals to this website upgrade. First, bus riders are a very mobile market. With over 50 percent of our website traffic coming from mobile devices, we needed to transition to a website that gives customers quick access to our route information and online amenities like pass purchasing, and current news and events,” shared Julia Schick, Laketran’s director of communications and marketing. “And, we needed a clean platform to launch our Rider Tools and Google Transit trip planner.  With new technology you can now plan trips for today or in the future, access next bus departure information and locate your bus in real-time on a map, and locate all 750 bus stops that serve six local routes and four Park-n-Ride routes in Cleveland.”

The new website features a clean and crisp design with intuitive navigation and search tools. Quick links to each bus route is incorporated directly on the site’s homepage, making it easy for customers to quickly access the most frequently sought information, including schedules, maps, and alerts. Riders can also now easily check for important transit status updates and alerts for detours and weather delays. As an alternate option to checking the site for updates, riders can also subscribe to Rider Alert notification to receive immediate notification in the event of any sort of disruption to service or in case of emergency through email or text messages.

Not all bus riders have smartphones to access the real-time information.  Laketran is in the process of installing new bus stop signs with a text code so riders can get next bus departure from any Laketran bus stop by texting LTBUS+STOP ID+ROUTE NUMBER to 41411.  The time of the next bus due to your bus stop will be sent back to you in a text message that based on the current GPS location of the bus.

Complying with accessibility guidelines was also a crucial component to the redevelopment of the site. Laketran intentionally designed a site that is easily translated with a language translation tool in the footer of the site, as well as maintains copy and text descriptions that are accessible for people with disabilities who may use screen readers.

To explore the new site visit, laketran.com