Service messages are now available through a range of online mediums

This month the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) unveiled its revamped website, still found at www.mta.info. The centerpiece of the new site is real-time transit information for all of the system’s subways, buses, railroads, and tunnels, including more accurate trip planning using Google technology.

The site was a priority for new Chairman and CEO Jay Walder, who took the helm October 5, 2009. Walder says that now the 8.5 million daily MTA riders can save time on their transit planning with up-to-the-minute service notices available through text messaging, e-mail, Twitter, and Facebook. Walder’s communications overhaul also allows software developers to access MTA data that can be readily used in smartphone and web applications.

With major construction ramping up at the Fulton Street Transit Center, the new site allows Lower Manhattan commuters to check subway status in advance, especially for weekend station bypasses planned to start this spring.