How do metro train operators respond to angry customers?

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

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

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.

@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