In Berlin, the BVG is the main public transport provider. Now it is also the owner of an elegant website. Guess what: The search function actually works. Where are you going today?
Berlin, August 18th, 2021 (The Berlin Spectator) — The BVG, Berlin’s largest public transport has relaunched its website a few times in the past three decades. The new version is the best one so far. Some 16,000 years ago, a great thing called map was invented. Now, it has become part of the brand new search system on the BVG Internet portal. The best part is: Nobody will have to search for the search function ever again since it pops up immediately.
Exact Opposite
According to the BVG, the new website has an “improved user guidance” and an “optimized design”. They are absolutely right. It took a few months to develop it. And, yes, it was about time for some improvement.
Now, getting information about U-Bahn train, S-Bahn train, tram, ferry and bus connections is easy as pie. Let’s do the test: We want to go from Berlin’s Boddinstrasse station to Friedrichstrasse. Finding them in the system is easy. If we intend to make things more complicated, we can enter the departure or arrival time we have in mind. Let’s say we want to be there by 8:40 a.m. today. Users who click ‘Search’ will notice something: The website’s search engine was improved too. It is quick and reliable, which is pretty much the exact opposite of what it was before.
Low Occupancy
Check out the search results. At a glance, you will see all options you have. For each trip the system suggests, we see the duration, how many times we have to change trains, trams, ferries or buses, and it shows the ticket price. It even says “low occupancy expected”, in this case. In others, it will probably say “The train will be crammed. Better go there by car.” No, it won’t.
Are you ready for the big highlight? The new public transport connection search on bvg.de shows a wonderful map, meaning the passengers will actually know where in the hell they are going. This function makes it a lot easier to understand Berlin and the routes we take. At the same time, the page with the search results looks nice indeed. This is a website people will want to return to. Why use an app if there is a neat website of this kind?
English Version
Another issue the old BVG website had was resolved: It was hard to impossible to find information on specific routes, fares, monthly tickets or anything. On the new website, all of this is only a mouse click away. By the way: It gets even better. The brand new BVG portal already has an English version.
When you look for flaws, you will find them. There is a tiny one: The part about the BVG’s “traffic disruptions and elevator malfunctions” is being offered in German only, even on the English part of the page. C’est la vie. See you on the U7.
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