Visitors to the Minnesota Valley Transit Authority website will see a new look as the agency has updated its pages for the first time in 10 years and added a host of features that executive director Beverly Miller said will "enhance the user experience and provide better information and customer service to our community."

And the remade website comes as a host of new users are likely to log on as MVTA completed its merger with BlueXpress, which served the communities of Prior Lake and Shakopee. Timetables on routes that served those communities have been added in as part of the upgrade. The two agencies completed their merger on Jan. 1.

The new-look website will allow riders to sign up for route-specific alerts that will be generated when accidents, road construction, weather or other times that service is impacted. The site also allows riders to get real-time information as to the status of their bus and use Google Trip Planner to map out their trip.

Most of the features available online also will be accessible by riders using mobile devices, including cell phones and tablets.

New tabs at the top of the website will allow riders to easily access information about fares, routes, park and ride locations and customer service contacts.

With its merger with BlueXpress complete, MVTA now provides service in Apple Valley, Burnsville, Eagan, Prior Lake, Rosemount, Savage and Shakopee. Dakota and Scott County are also parties to the MVTA.