ACE Rail case study

ACE Rail
www.acerail.com
Background
Altamont Corridor Express (ACE) is a passenger rail system in northern California. ACE
had two separate sites that were confusing and hard to navigate, and was looking to
combine them into one seamless, visually-appealing user experience.
Goals
Product
Kentico CMS
Industry
E-commerce, Government,
Transportation
Partner
PMC
2729 Prospect Park Drive,
Suite 220
Rancho Cordova, CA 95670
USA
Contact: Steve Parker
Create a single site to take over the three disjointed prior sites: main, mobile, and ecommerce. Update design to better reflect the goals of ACE: stepping away from
showing the train and instead focusing on the human element to riding the train and its
benefits to passengers.
Challenges
The agency was spending a lot of time maintaining multiple communications channels:
three websites, Facebook, Twitter, an email and text alert system, and a Tumblr blog.
The agency’s primary need was to combine and streamline efforts into one multifaceted, multi-functioning responsive website. Communications needs vary for each
type of user: existing riders need quick train status and alerts, new riders need a
benefit-centric overview, and stakeholders and officials need easy access to board
meeting and agendas.
sparker@pmcworld.com
Testimonial
“I am thrilled that I can now
post alerts, news and new
pages to the site easily. The
feedback from riders has been
very positive, but we are still
keen to improve parts of the
site to make it even more userfriendly for our frequent
riders.”
Errol Schmall
Marketing & Communications
ACE
Above all, the goal was to provide simple and intuitive electronic access to services
provided by ACE and to the San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission.
Testimonial
“Our new site conveys a feeling
of ease and relaxation,
reiterating to our passengers
and potential riders how
commuting by train can turn a
hassle into a pleasure. We are
now poised for the rapid
growth in public transit that we
are experiencing in this region.”
Thomas W. Reeves
Manager of Public Affairs &
Community
ACE
Concurrently, ACE embarked on a refresh of their logo and messaging in an attempt to
change perceptions of public transit. The website needed to reflect a change from the
common American perception of what public transit is (i.e., dirty, smelly, slow,
inaccessible, old) to the common European model of what public transit is (i.e., a way
of life, comfortable, fast, reliable, people-oriented, sexy, sleek). Our shared goal was to
focus on the benefits of public transit rather than the train itself.
Solution
To address these issues, PMC used the wide variety of features in Kentico CMS. The
major changes to ACE’s new site include:

Live train status. Previously, station agents recorded the arrival time of each
train and entered it into a system. The new system pulls live arrival data from
GPS on each of the trains and displays it on the right-hand side of the front page.

Custom design to enhance branding, highlighting the lifestyle benefits of
commuting by train.

Responsive to multiple screen sizes. Prior site was split into two sites that were
managed separately. The new single site is straightforward and consistent to
users, independent of what device they are using.

Integrated and streamlined e-commerce. Kentico’s e-commerce options allow
riders to purchase instantly printable tickets off the site, or get them from a
pickup location or delivery method. Riders can also purchase multiple tickets at a
time or buy tickets for other riders.

New station pages display consistent information for each station including
amenities, ticketing, parking, train schedule, transit connections, nearby
destinations, and the five most frequently asked questions.
These pages are easy for the client to update thought the
document type form.

Mega menu. The newly reorganized navigation’s keystone
is the drop-down menu which gives users a graphically enhanced overview of each section. PMC created custom iconography for use throughout the site and integrated
branding for the printed transit guide into the site’s look
and feel.

Write once, publish everywhere. PMC customized the system to enable the reuse of one page’s content into a featurette directing users to more information on a topic. By
simply updating the single page, all featurettes on that topic will be updated site-wide.
Results
ACE saw instant value upon project completion. Noticeable results included:

The site is now considerably easier for editors to manage and understand. Added
functionality allows client to better manage public engagement.

Customized reporting allowed for e-commerce reports to be built relatively
quickly and customized to the client’s needs.
Key criteria for selecting Kentico CMS



Integrated e-commerce options allowed for smooth, user-focused ticket
purchasing system that other products couldn’t offer.
Kentico CMS allows users to consolidate large amounts of data into a single web
page without becoming overwhelming or confusing to navigate
Easy for employees to edit and upload content, regardless of technical knowledge levels