Students looking to take advantage of the Valley’s new light-rail system will have a new resource come November when three local bloggers launch www.RailLife.com.

Rail Life will map out all the businesses — big and small — along the new transit line, allowing business owners to get in touch with potential customers and commuters to plan out their trips down to the last detail.

“My goal is to have Rail Life be a true community resource,” Tempe real-estate developer and blogger Nick Bastian said. “ASU is going to be a big part of that."

Rail Life is the brainchild of Bastian and two of his friends, Web designer Bob Hager and graphic designer Kelly Rupp.

“I just went to my friend, who is a graphic designer, with the idea, and he was like, ‘This is really cool. We could actually do this,’ ” Bastian said.

Two years later, the site is nearly ready for use.

Although he is still collecting information from Valley businesses, Bastian wrote on the Web site that the completed Rail Life would be an “Internet portal like you’ve never seen.”

Biology senior Josh Kolopanis said the site would not only be useful but also help boost student interest in using light rail.

“I think it will encourage students to use the light rail,” Kolopanis said. “They’re more likely to use it when they know there’s stuff to do [around the transit line].”

Bastian said the response on the site’s blog has been overwhelmingly positive — especially when it come to ASU students.

One student fascinated by the idea is nonprofit leadership and management junior Sam Richard, who spends most of his time at the Downtown Phoenix campus. Richard was featured in a video interview posted on the Rail Life blog on Aug. 18.

“The light rail is going to be a huge part of my life as a downtown resident, and what Rail Life is going to do is connect me to a lot of resources that are on the light-rail line,” Richard said. “Whether it’s a business, a coffee shop or a museum or a cool park, they’re going to have everything there.”

Richard also said the site would help make students more aware of the cultural opportunities in downtown Phoenix.

“Downtown is horribly misconceived,” Richard said. “I would love to see more people down here.”

Bastian said Rail Life would be fully operational by November, but the site’s launch date would only be the beginning of a long process.

“Rail Life is going to be constantly growing and evolving,” Bastian said. “We’re always [going to be] looking for suggestions.”

Reach the reporter at derek.quizon@asu.edu