Welcome to Twitter Tuesday, a weekly feature here at The Source in which we’ll round up the latest Metro related tweets in the Twitterverse. To follow Metro on Twitter just search for @MetroLosAngeles. We recommend adding the #MetroLosAngeles tag to your tweets to get our attention.
There’s a lot of angry Tweets directed @MetroLosAngeles this week, so I’m going to start off by posting a few happy Tweets from Metro riders who enjoyed Meet Me @Metro this past weekend:
leeloulaw Meet Me @Metro is off to a great start. Lots of accidental audience in addition to enthusiasm from deliberate audience. #M3
cindymariej I have to say, if one goal of #MMM was to encourage people to take the Metro………..I’m sold
And here’s a nice Twitpic from the event:
silversunstop Meet me at metro #metro #theatre #watt http://twitpic.com/1kh3es
I attended the event on Sunday and have to say, I was really blown away. Stay tuned for a video report on the performance later this week.
Now on to the bite sized criticisms – first off, Twitter users continue to expect more from Metro’s Twitter updates:
thelittlefella @metrolosangeles In order for this to be useful you need real time updates like today’s temporary shutdown of the gold line. With alternates
jetovar So,#metrolosangeles,u should of let us know that there was a minor detour in Downtown L.A.on Thurs, 4/30. Hope st between1st & temple blockd
Next up, bus service and the associated delays continue to be a thorn in the side of some Twitter users:
PBunches Dear @metrolosangeles, The driver is route 920/bus# 9352 is THE slowest 920 bus driver I have ever encountered. Other cars are PASSING us!!
mpatterson73 @metrolosangeles 550 southbound that leaves San Vicente/S. Monica at 5:34 was too early 2nd day in a row. Driver not on schedule
mpatterson73 @metrolosangeles I have bus pass and yet the service paid for is faulty, ain’t that fraud? Buses either too early or too late or not at all
I know first hand how aggravating it can be when your bus isn’t there when promised, but keep in mind the endless variables buses must face on L.A.’s mean streets in order to stay on schedule. Revisit my story on the Metro Bus Operations Control Center to get an idea of the challenges Metro’s bus operations staff faces on a daily basis. And keep in mind, Metro is currently in the process of bringing a real time bus arrival information system to customers which has the potential to solve a lot of the frustration riders face when it comes to waiting for a bus.
More Tweets, including a TAP Tweet, after the jump.
Caught in the act? In a world of instant communication where everyone is equipped with a camera and a personal broadcasting tool like Twitter, it’s hard to avoid getting called out:
GayTownKTown @metrolosangeles this morning: sheriffs drinking coffee on red line – reg riders would face a potential $250 fine http://twitpic.com/1kptfj
adamlarue @metrolosangeles It seems our blue line conductor has stopped at Pico to make a personal call.
TAP is always a hot issue, as evidenced by the massive response we’ve receive from our open call for TAP questions last week (we’re working on getting answers to those questions this week), and here the issue pops up on Twitter:
soulbarn Santa Clarita (http://bit.ly/cqTwhe ) and Foothill Trans (http://bit.ly/daZuqC ) now sell cash-value TAP cards. @metrolosangeles, GROW UP!
Last but not least, this Twitter user brings up a valid question about fare policy discrepancy on Metro’s Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) lines:
kitchen dear @metrolosangeles: what diff is the silver line to orange line that makes its fares 2x as much? make it normal fares and ridership++
As far as I can tell, since the Silver Line uses the freeways it adheres to the Freeway Express Add-On policy that requires an additional fare. Since the Orange Line doesn’t travel on a freeway this policy does not apply. As a blogger, I have little power over fare policy, but I tend to agree that making the fares for the BRT lines the same would reduce confusion and likely increase ridership.
Categories: Feedback, Twitter Tuesdays