For Immediate Release

October 13, 2009 

Visitors to METRO Transit’s web site – gometro.org – will find a comprehensively redesigned site that gives riders, residents and visitors effortless access to online information about METRO Transit’s family of services. It includes several added features, such as a Service Guide with a transit savings calculator and an Action Center where visitors can make a request, report a concern or make a suggestion.

The new design meets several goals, including making the web site more functional and interactive. “We wanted to enable our customers to access information 24 hours a day and to forward a request or question to us at their convenience. This site was designed with our customers in mind,” said METRO Transit Director, Rick Cain.

The site now features streamlined content and a more accessible format for all customers. Quick links and Route Quick Links were incorporated directly on the site’s homepage, making it easy for customers to quickly access the most frequently sought information, including schedules, maps, alerts and special service programs. Many of the new features enhance usability for persons with disabilities.

"The launch of gometro.org is part of METRO Transit’s goal to maximize communication and interaction with the Greater Oklahoma City area," explained Public Information Officer, Michael Scroggins. “Riders can now sign up for Myride - a new electronic messaging service that will automatically send an email or text message notifying registered users of any service changes directly to their mobile phone. This service is one example of how METRO Transit has incorporated customers’ comments and suggestions into this endeavor.”

"It’s our hope that gometro.org will better serve Central Oklahomans and visitors by showing them how to use public transportation to connect to the Greater Oklahoma City area’s many districts and the green spaces in our back yard,” said Cain. Utilizing public transportation to get to those destinations reduces that individual's carbon footprint and improves the community's air quality.

Over the course of the next year, an online trip planner and real-time bus tracking will be integrated into the new site. METRO Transit is asking website visitors to help further enhance the new gometro.org by providing their feedback on design, features and content through a survey on the homepage. Survey participants who include their contact information will be entered into a drawing for free 30-day passes. One pass will be given away monthly through December 2009.

About METRO Transit

METRO Transit is a division of the Central Oklahoma Transportation & Parking Authority (COTPA). COTPA, a public trust administered by the City of Oklahoma City, is responsible for providing safe, efficient and convenient public transportation to the citizens of the greater Oklahoma City area.

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