Stell journal
Practical notes on websites, digital tools, and the work behind them.
A transit website may have two valid sources of service information: an operations feed with disruption data and staff notices that explain the practical consequences. Combining them requires clear ownership. The website…
Read articleWhen a transit agency adds real-time service information to its website, the first instinct is often to display every available feed item. That can create a different problem: riders see a vendor…
Read articleReal-time information is valuable, but a public website should never become confusing just because one data source has a bad day. An integration can fail for ordinary reasons: a vendor service is…
Read article“Automated” and “manual” are often presented as opposites. For public-service information, they are usually complementary. The right question is not whether people or systems should publish alerts. It is which source is…
Read articleTransit alerts have to work for riders who are moving, distracted, using a small screen, or navigating with assistive technology. Accessibility is not a cleanup step after the alert is written. It…
Read articleWhen a rider lands on a service-disruptions page, they are rarely browsing for fun. They may be standing at a stop, late for work, or trying to decide whether to leave home.…
Read articleAn embedded trip planner can be a convenience or a source of friction. The difference usually has less to do with the WordPress page and more to do with the decisions around…
Read articleOn a transit homepage, the temptation is to put every useful tool above the fold: route planning, alerts, fares, passes, news, schedules, and service links. On a phone, that can turn one…
Read articleDuring a storm, the municipal website becomes part of the public-information response. Residents may be looking for a shelter list, a closure notice, a trash-schedule change, a transit update, or a link…
Read articleAn alert that remains active forever is not harmless. Over time, an unmaintained list teaches residents to ignore it. But deleting a notice the moment it is resolved can create a different…
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