The Double-Edged Sword of a Proactive Agency Social Media Strategy
The intersection of 23rd and Eye streets NW in Washington, D.C., during a relatively calm evening rush hour. Michael Grass / RouteFifty.com
Here are two good examples for Twitter best practices. But actions speak louder than words.
WASHINGTON — Developing a proactive social media strategy is something every public agency should be doing tailored to the communities they serve and the resources they have available.
Last week, The Washington Post’s Dr. Gridlock wrote a story about how a Twitter interaction involving the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s Metrorail system and a passenger whose $40-value paper farecard was eaten by a farecard machine. Long story short: When a station manager’s hands were tied in being helpful—station managers don’t have access to the farecard machines—tweeting at the agency led to an unusual set of circumstances that led to the passenger actually getting their farecard back. Normally, a farecard stuck in a similar predicament likely would have remained consumed by the machine.
The Post’s story was the butt of some jokes by Metro’s numerous online critics.
Last week, I had two D.C. transportation-related Twitter interactions that demonstrate how two public agencies successfully responded to problems I reported. While I was pleasantly surprised by the agencies’ response, I know that’s only one part of the customer service equation when it comes to social media (more on that later on).
Example No. 1: A Dangerous Intersection
On my way home from the office, I usually catch a bus at the intersection of 23rd and Eye streets NW, adjacent to the Foggy Bottom-GWU Metrorail station and George Washington University Hospital. It’s a busy intersection, especially during the evening rush hour—with vehicular traffic heading south toward Virginia-bound bridges and north toward one of D.C.’s messy traffic circles, pedestrians going to and from the congested Metrorail station entrance escalators and a steady stream of buses.
To make a long story somewhat shorter, the intersection is dangerous because northbound traffic on 23rd Street NW is squeezed from two lanes to one lane because of a parking lane, and there isn’t enough room at the bus stop to safely serve more than one bus at a time. Because of the lane squeeze, buses get caught up in the middle of the intersection. Pedestrians then weave their way through the stuck traffic.
It’s a recipe for a pedestrian injury or worse. And that’s what I tweeted at the District of Columbia’s Department of Transportation, which has oversight over the intersection.
I offered up my diagnosis of what was causing the problems and some possible solutions, including eliminating northbound rush-hour parking, creating a rush-hour bus-only lane to accommodate the steady stream of buses and dispatching DDOT traffic safety personnel to the intersection to better control the flow of pedestrians, cars and buses.
DDOT is known locally for being a local agency that is far more proactive than other local government entities with Twitter, and the person monitoring the account responded, eventually telling me that from my observations that the situation “sounds like it needs examination”—it certainly does—and that the agency “will flag for engineers.”
Example No. 2: An Incorrect Metrobus Map
On Thursday, I was waiting for a Metrobus at a stop near my apartment—in this case the westbound bus stop at Adams Mill and Columbia roads NW—and noticed that the bus route diagram showed bus routings for a nearby stop, 18th Street NW and Columbia Road, which serves buses going in the opposite direction.
The folks who monitor the Metrobus Twitter feed responded fairly quickly, letting me know that they’ve been sharing “with our bus group for appropriate action.”
Actions Speak Stronger Than Words
So, it’s certainly nice to know that I wasn’t tweeting into thin air. But the problems I flagged for both DDOT and Metrobus don’t have immediately simple solutions.
In the case of the incorrect Metrobus route diagram, WMATA would have to create a new bus route diagram for that particular stop and replace the incorrect diagram. Agency critics would say that should be a simple fix, but considering all of WMATA’s bigger problems it has to sort through, a bus diagram replacement is probably a far more difficult problem for the agency to address.
For DDOT with the dangerous intersection, that is certainly not an easy fix. It’s a situation that requires careful study of traffic and pedestrian planners and touching the third-rail of local politics: street parking. (I should note that I once saw D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton illegally park in the bus stop.)
So, I’m pleased with the initial social media interaction. But actions speak louder than words, and I’m not holding my breath that any meaningful action will be taken—at least anytime soon. Hopefully I’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Michael Grass is Executive Editor of Government Executive's Route Fifty.
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