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Route history pages


MiExpress

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After spending time recently updating to the MiWay wiki pages, which included the related route history pages, I have some thoughts. I do want to make it known they shouldn't be interpreted as wanting less content on the wiki, but looking at ways to make the wiki easier to keep updated consistently.

With the route history pages, there may have been agreement in the past on what should be included as standard (for example, summary charts showing current frequency) which is why I wanted to share my thoughts before making any major changes to the formatting of the pages.

1. Current Summary - many transit system route pages include a current summary which includes current frequency and span of service. I would like to eliminate this on all the MiWay route pages with a suggestion to eliminate it on all route pages across the wiki. This table is hard to keep updated with the number of frequency changes that can occur to a route during a year (even minor ones). Since they only contain current information they have no archival or historical purpose, and I see no reason to include this type of information when it can easily be found consulting schedules on transit system websites.

2. Bus Type - Listing specific models operated on a route made sense when transit systems had more diverse fleets of both high and low floor buses. With many systems standardizing on 2 or 3 low floor models and entire fleets being low floor, buses can now appear on almost any route. It does not make sense to have to edit all route pages just because a bus model was introduced, or current bus model retired from the fleet. I would like to suggest that listing bus type change to listing bus size (30' 40', 60' etc.) as I feel that information could be useful and changes to the size of buses used on a route could be noted in the timeline section (see below).

3. Timeline/Route history - Some systems use paragraphs to describe route histories, while others such as TTC use a timeline format. I prefer the timeline format and have used it when updating the MiWay route pages. The timeline format is easier for the reader to follow and understand, and for the editor it makes it much easier to add new or updated information about a route by simply entering it in the timeline rather than possibly having to re-word the page as a whole. It also helps accuracy as even if the timeline isn't updated promptly, all the information listed in it will still be accurate, and as mentioned before, without having to re-word sections of the page every time a change to the route happens. I would like to suggest that all route history pages be modified to use the timeline format as time permits, perhaps when pages are due for updates or new pages are created.

4. Route maps - All route maps should be in a gallery format at the bottom of the page, starting with the current route map, and then any former/historical ones following. This keeps all the maps in one place on the page and easy to follow.

5. Destination signs - Some systems have listed destination signs for routes on the pages. I want to eliminate it from the MiWay pages and also suggest eliminating it across the wiki. I don't feel the wiki pages can capture destination sign information accurately due to formatting issues. Also, some systems have more than one type of destination sign in their fleet (and in the past, it wasn't uncommon for systems to have several models). This makes it hard to capture all the different programming that may occur between the types of destination signs. Also, like the "current summary" tables, it becomes a challenge to keep all routes updated especially if there's a system wide change in how destination signs are programmed.

A example of a page incorporating my suggestions can be found here.

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