Baybus Website Overhaul
Baybus Website Overhaul: Improving Accessibility and Usability for Bay of Plenty Commuters
Somar Digital launched the redesigned Baybus website, bringing a fresh, user-friendly, and accessible experience to public transport users in the Bay of Plenty region.
Commissioned by Bay of Plenty Regional Council Toi Moana, this complete overhaul of the Baybus website ensures that commuters can easily plan their journeys, track buses in real time, and stay informed of service updates.
The new website reflects a commitment to improving the public transport experience and making travel more convenient for everyone.
The Baybus Website
Operated by Bay of Plenty Regional Council, Baybus is the public transport network for the Bay of Plenty region, providing essential bus services across towns and cities in the area. The Baybus website plays a crucial role in keeping commuters informed, helping them plan trips and stay updated with real-time alerts. Somar Digital took on the challenge of creating a completely new website for Baybus, redesigning it from the ground up to deliver a more modern, accessible and user-friendly experience.
Through comprehensive UX research, Somar Digital developed a website tailored to the needs of Baybus commuters, ensuring that the site’s functionality aligned with their preferences and travel patterns.
Challenges
Bay of Plenty Regional Council wanted to enhance key areas of the BayBus website to better meet the needs of its users. Their goal was to create a more user-friendly experience by improving the ease of navigation, ensuring that visitors could quickly find important information such as timetables, live tracking, and service alerts. Additionally, the Council aimed to streamline site maintenance for administrators, making it easier to update timetables and manage service notifications.
Solutions
Somar Digital’s approach addressed these pain points by streamlining the website's layout and improving functionality. The new website features live bus tracking, route-specific information, and alerts for any service disruptions—all of which are easily accessible from the home screen or saved directly to a mobile device. Commuters can now plan trips efficiently, save their favourite routes and stops, and receive real-time updates, ensuring a smoother public transport experience.
Key Features
The new Baybus website is packed with user-centric features designed to make public transport more intuitive and efficient:
- Trip Planning: Users can easily plan their journeys by accessing clear route and timetable information.
- Live Tracking: Real-time bus tracking helps commuters see exactly where buses are on their routes.
- Customisable Timetables: Commuters can filter timetables to view only their preferred stops and see relevant trip information.
- Favourite Routes and Stops: Regular users can save routes and destinations for quick access in the future.
- Alerts and Updates: Service alerts that could impact travel are prominently displayed, ensuring users are always informed of any disruptions.
- Mobile Integration: The website can be added directly to mobile home screens, making it even more accessible for on-the-go users.
Benefits to Baybus Admin
For Baybus administrators, the new site is much easier to manage, with simplified processes for updating timetables and posting alerts, leading to more timely and accurate information for users. Somar Digital aimed to help Baybus administrators save time and simplify their workflow by making the site easier to update with timetables and service alerts. By streamlining these processes, administrators can now manage the site more efficiently, reducing the time spent on routine tasks.
Outcomes
Improved User Experience
The redesigned Baybus website has significantly improved the user experience for users of the website in the Bay of Plenty region. Commuters can now easily access the information they need to make their journeys smoother and more predictable. The user-centric design has made navigating the site intuitive, reducing frustration and enhancing satisfaction.
Operational Efficiencies
From an operational standpoint, the new site has streamlined administrative tasks, making it easier for Baybus staff to manage and update the site. As a result, service alerts, timetables, and travel information are more accurate and readily available to commuters.
Accessible and Modern Tools for Transport
With the success of this project, Somar Digital has not only modernised the Baybus website but also set a new standard for accessible and user-centric public transport websites for the region.
Oliver Haycock, Bay of Plenty Regional Council Public Transport Director
