How do metro train operators respond to angry customers?

Different approaches taken to engage with people on social media.

When electrical faults delayed trains on San Francisco’s Bay Area Rapid Transit this week, the operator tried a different approach to respond to complaints on social media. Instead of polite apologies to frustrated passengers, @SFBART got honest about the state of the city’s train infrastructure and the complex challenges that need to be addressed. The Twitter exchange began with an apology for the delay: “All our efforts are focused on resolving the electrical issues right now - apologies for all the trouble.” But BART’s tweets soon turned into more frank remarks:

@shakatron BART was built to transport far fewer people, and much of our system has reached the end of its useful life. This is our reality.
— SFBART (@SFBART) March 17, 2016

@cliberti We have 3 hours a night to do maintenance on a system built to serve 100k per week that now serves 430k per day. #ThisIsOurReality
— SFBART (@SFBART) March 17, 2016

@CBonneaux We have to fix what we have first - our system was built to last about 45 years and we've reached that limit.
— SFBART (@SFBART) March 17, 2016

@colinjjm Paying employees poorly doesn't attract talent. We need electricians & technicians and are having difficulty getting them.
— SFBART (@SFBART) March 17, 2016

The London Underground directly responds to angry passengers on Twitter and explains the reasons. Every complaint can expect a polite response.

@singitjess Hi, sorry a train did not run as scheduled creating a gap as a result. You should be able to continue your journey soon. Thanks
— District line (@districtline) March 17, 2016

@becky_super Hi, sorry to hear & thanks for the feedback. I'll certainly pass it on to help us improve our service.
— District line (@districtline) March 18, 2016

@burginmikey Hi, sorry to hear. No reported issues from our Control Point at present. I'll update the feed as soon as I know more.
— District line (@districtline) March 18, 2016

@mikumouse Hi, sorry if you've been held up, there have been no issues reported to us so far. I'll update the feed if this changes.
— Central line (@centralline) March 18, 2016

Singapore’s SMRT train operator SMRT doesn’t tweet back, but has launched a mass campaign to show the silent workers toiling to fix problems in the metro system. The “We’re Working On It” campaign features posters profiling an engineer, station manager and technical officers, with quotes on the work they do and a snippet of their personal life.

Nor Khairul is a Technical Officer at the Rolling Stock Workshop. He has been with SMRT for about three years and he...
Posted by SMRT on Sunday, January 3, 2016