Pierce Transit Lets You 'Build Your Own Transit System'

Users start with a budget of $20 to "mix and match" possible service changes, among them extending service hours ($5), providing real-time arrival info ($3), and installing benches at bus stops ($1).

Each option is associated with a set of weighted benefits—in terms of the environment, accessibility, or ridership levels, for example—and a calculator tracks your spending as well as your attention to each interest.

PT launched the outreach campaign as the start of a major recovery plan, which comes after the agency drastically slashed service in 2010.

The online tool is meant to gather input from customers on the redesign, but it also could also help teach the public what to expect from the transportation planning process—tradeoffs and all.