Difference between revisions of "About Transit.wiki"

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Welcome to Transit Unlimited. The goal for Transit Unlimited is to provide a comprehensive guide to all buses, trains, ferries, and shuttles in California and beyond.  
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Welcome to the Transit Unlimited Wiki. This wiki is a guide to all buses, trains, ferries, and more to help people travel independently without automobiles.  
  
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While most metropolitan areas have many transportation alternatives, it is often hard to figure out what options there are and how to use them. It can be especially confusing for new and infrequent riders and visitors on vacation or business. The goal of this project is to fill in the gaps left by the official transit web sites and online transit trip planners with the information and knowledge experienced riders have picked up along the way.
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By presenting a consistent interface, this wiki fills in the gaps left by the official transit web sites. It complements transit trip planner with information and knowledge experienced riders have picked up along the way.
  
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==How is this Wiki supposed to be structured==
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==Guiding principles==
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* Think about new riders who might may not even be fluent in english.
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Transit Unlimited provides transit information for:
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* Avoid technical and confusing terms. There's no need to say "light-rail vehicle" when "train" works just fine.
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* Never contradict a transit agency unless their information is misleading or false.
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* Cities
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* Providing details useful for new riders that savvy riders take for granted.
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* Popular destinations (parks, sports facilities, airports, shopping centers, colleges and universities, etc)
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* This is not Wikipedia. That means the information on this site does not have to meet the standards set by Wikipedia. Also, this Wiki should not follow the formatting commonly found in Wikipedia articles.
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* Rail stations/ferry terminals/transit centers
 
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Transit information on this site is consisted of pages for:
 
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* Bus/rail/ferry routes
 
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* Transit providers
 
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At Transit Unlimited, users can have a virtual tour of each leg of the transit trip, which complements online transit trip planners by providing information beyond just providing simple transit routes and times. For instance, this Wiki provides the following for a trip from Hayward to AT&T Park:
 
  
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# [[Hayward]] - For transit services, stations, and destinations available in the city
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==Structure of the wiki==
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# [[Hayward Station (BART)]]  - for location, parking information, and transit connections to the station.
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Most pages on this wiki fall under these categories:
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# [[BART Fremont - Daly City]] Line - for train schedules and station served, along with alternate service.
 
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# [[Embarcadero Station]] - Information for transferring from BART to Muni Metro
 
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# [[N-Judah]] - for train schedule, along with alternate service.
 
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# [[2nd & King Station]] - for location
 
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# [[AT&T Park]] - for all transit routes serving the park.
 
  
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In addition, this Wiki will provide a step to step guide for things that savvy riders have taken for granted, such as
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{|class=wikitable
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! Page types
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! Purpose
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|-
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| [[:category:cities|Cities]]
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| List of popular destinations and transportation hubs in city
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|-
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| [[:category:counties|Counties]]
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| List of cities and intercity transportation hubs in county
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|-
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| [[:category:Points of interest|Points of interest]]
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* Parks, sports facilities, shopping centers, colleges and universities, high schools, hospitals
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| List of transit routes serving that destination
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|-
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| Transportation hubs
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* [[:category:rail stations|Rail stations]], [[:category:ferry terminals|ferry terminals]], [[:category:bus stops|bus terminals]], [[:category:airports|airports]]
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| List of transit routes serving that hub, along with information on available amenities along with bike and automobile parking. Real time transit arrival information is available for agencies that provide such service via API.
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|-
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| Transit routes (bus, rail, ferry)
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| Links to schedules, maps, fares, and a list of points of interests and transportation hubs served.
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|-
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| Transit providers
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| Routes, fares, service updates from RSS, Twitter, and/or Facebook (if available)
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|}
  
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* How does a bus stop look like?
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These pages help provide a virtual tour of each leg of the transit trip and complements online transit trip planners:
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* How to read a bus schedule?
 
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* How to use ticket vending machines?
 
  
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Transit Unlimited is not just limited to traditional fixed route mass transit. Shuttle buses, privately operated transit, and [[bicycling]] information is welcomed.
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[[Hayward]] ► [[Hayward Station (BART)]] ► [[BART Fremont - Daly City]] Line ► [[Embarcadero Station]] ► [[N-Judah]] ► [[2nd & King Station]] ► [[AT&T Park]]
  
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===Task analysis===
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==Transit routes suitable for the wiki==
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Services included should be open to the public and can be used for trips in lieu of automobiles.
  
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Figure out the primary goals that most of the readers will be coming here for. These need to be fleshed out alot more.
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{|class=wikitable
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! Services should be included in wiki
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! Services that aren't so suitable
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|-
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|
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:{{Ym}} Fixed route urban transit
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:{{Ym}} Flex (deviated fixed) transit route
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:{{Ym}} General public dial-a-ride
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:{{Ym}} Open-to-public shuttle that serve transit hubs
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:{{Ym}} Intercity bus
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:{{Ym}} Scheduled airport bus/shuttle
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:{{Ym}} Limited fixed route service to special events<br>(considered to be charter bus under Federal regulations)
  
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* Figure out how to get somewhere
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Service may be provided by public agencies, non-profit groups, or private companies.
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* Already know how to get somewhere, but need transit agency in (fares, arrival times/schedule)
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|
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* Find out services and rules specific to the transit line or stations (i.e. parking fees, how to pay)
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:{{Nm}} Yellow school bus
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* Where to transfer (especially between trains and buses at stations without off-street bus plaza)
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:{{Nm}} Services limited to seniors, disabled, or clients of certain social service.
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:{{Nm}} Parking lot shuttle
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===Guiding principles===
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:{{Nm}} Shuttle strictly for a company's employee
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:{{Nm}} Hotel shuttle and rental car shuttle
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* Think about new riders who might may not even be fluent in english.
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:{{Nm}} Door to door on-demand airport van
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* Avoid technical and confusing terms. There's no need to say "light-rail vehicle" when "train" works just fine.
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:{{Nm}} Charter service (service that require user to reserve the entire vehicle)
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* Never contradict a transit agency unless their information is misleading or false.
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:{{Nm}} Tour/sightseeing bus
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* Providing details useful for new riders that savvy riders take for granted. For example, listing where buses stop (and in what direction) at the station, rather than just providing a list of buses that connect there.
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|}
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* This is not Wikipedia. That means the information on this site does not have to meet the standards set by Wikipedia. Also, this Wiki should not follow the formatting commonly found in Wikipedia articles. 
 
  
 
==How can you get involved?==
 
==How can you get involved?==
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* [[Talk:Transit Unlimited|Click here for comments and general discussion about the web site.]]
 
* [[Talk:Transit Unlimited|Click here for comments and general discussion about the web site.]]
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==A resource for all transit big and small==
 
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Transit Unlimited can be used to promote shuttles (e.g. [[BART shuttles]]), small transit, and privately operated buses, which allow them to have the same web presense as big transit agencies. The Wiki welcomes all service-related information. Pages on Transit Unlimited complement presence on online trip planning services such as Google Transit.
 
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Contact [[User:Andy]] if you have any questions. Webmaster [[User:Andy]] is also available for consultant work for online and printed transit materials.
 

Revision as of 02:22, 24 December 2013

Lametrobus2.jpg VTA lrt.jpg Sacrt bus.jpg

Help Special pages
  1. Content
  2. Editing pages
  3. Starting a new page
  4. Semantic features
  1. Special pages
  2. Recent changes

Welcome to the Transit Unlimited Wiki. This wiki is a guide to all buses, trains, ferries, and more to help people travel independently without automobiles.

By presenting a consistent interface, this wiki fills in the gaps left by the official transit web sites. It complements transit trip planner with information and knowledge experienced riders have picked up along the way.

Guiding principles

  • Think about new riders who might may not even be fluent in english.
  • Avoid technical and confusing terms. There's no need to say "light-rail vehicle" when "train" works just fine.
  • Never contradict a transit agency unless their information is misleading or false.
  • Providing details useful for new riders that savvy riders take for granted.
  • This is not Wikipedia. That means the information on this site does not have to meet the standards set by Wikipedia. Also, this Wiki should not follow the formatting commonly found in Wikipedia articles.

Structure of the wiki

Most pages on this wiki fall under these categories:

Page types Purpose
Cities List of popular destinations and transportation hubs in city
Counties List of cities and intercity transportation hubs in county
Points of interest
  • Parks, sports facilities, shopping centers, colleges and universities, high schools, hospitals
 List of transit routes serving that destination
Transportation hubs List of transit routes serving that hub, along with information on available amenities along with bike and automobile parking. Real time transit arrival information is available for agencies that provide such service via API.
Transit routes (bus, rail, ferry) Links to schedules, maps, fares, and a list of points of interests and transportation hubs served.
Transit providers Routes, fares, service updates from RSS, Twitter, and/or Facebook (if available)

These pages help provide a virtual tour of each leg of the transit trip and complements online transit trip planners:

Hayward ► Hayward Station (BART) ► BART Fremont - Daly City Line ► Embarcadero Station ► N-Judah ► 2nd & King Station ► AT&T Park

Transit routes suitable for the wiki

Services included should be open to the public and can be used for trips in lieu of automobiles.

Services should be included in wiki Services that aren't so suitable
✓ Fixed route urban transit
✓ Flex (deviated fixed) transit route
✓ General public dial-a-ride
✓ Open-to-public shuttle that serve transit hubs
✓ Intercity bus
✓ Scheduled airport bus/shuttle
✓ Limited fixed route service to special events
(considered to be charter bus under Federal regulations)

Service may be provided by public agencies, non-profit groups, or private companies.

✗ Yellow school bus
✗ Services limited to seniors, disabled, or clients of certain social service.
✗ Parking lot shuttle
✗ Shuttle strictly for a company's employee
✗ Hotel shuttle and rental car shuttle
✗ Door to door on-demand airport van
✗ Charter service (service that require user to reserve the entire vehicle)
✗ Tour/sightseeing bus

How can you get involved?

This wiki is looking for contributors for this Wiki, especially if you have programming skills and/or transit savvy. For now, only registered users can edit this site.

If you work for a transit agency or a private provider, please let User:Andy know if you find something needs to be changed or added. Although most information comes from the web, some transit information are not available on the internet can only be verified by being on-the-ground.

Please see the help section if you want to get started on editing. The most important part is the Semantic features section, because this wiki is highly depend on Semantic Mediawiki and its ability to query information.

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