please empty your brain below
[i say this based on the fact that the "While you were away..." feature has never made it thought to my smartphone client. thankfully!]
Should be separate accounts: OvergroundELL OvergroundNLL OvergroundLS OvergroundEuston etc
It is particularly annoying for bus users where "minor" info in the context of the network may be "major" if you're using the route that is affected. It doesn't matter what the cause is - the fact there is disruption is what matters.
Still if TfL want to lose followers on Twitter, despite making a great big song and dance of how wonderful their social media strategy is, then this is the way to achieve it. If they can't be bothered to keep me reasonably informed then I'll stop following them. And when my journeys are screwed up and there's no info [1] I'll direct my complaints up and over TfL and see how they like it. This is a ridiculous and short sighted change that they need to reconsider.
[1] TfL buses realtime info is notoriously inaccurate and not kept up to date in a timely fashion. It's therefore not very useful.
About a year ago, there was a major road closure due to an incident. That affected several buses and meant that they were diverted and missing out several bus stops. After 2½ hours, all buses were still showing a normal service with no problems. When I phoned TfL information, they said "we don't have anything about it here. nobody's told us anything"
Bus information has not improved since then.
What new horrors await?
I.E. named road closed due to police incident following routes diverted or delayed.
I don't remember seeing this info displayed prior to this year.
TfL Social Media – Adapting to Twitter’s Changes
Since 2012 we’ve been using Twitter to share ‘live’ transport information, and the platform’s chronological feeds meant we were able to distribute information within minutes of receiving it, with alerts generated by our systems along with the help of our partners, such as the Metropolitan Police.
Our social media teams could be alerted to disruption in a variety of ways, from bus drivers spotting issues and reporting to our LSTCC (London Streets Traffic Control Centre) through to issues triggered by our Tube signalling systems, and we would then get the info tweeted out to our followers as quickly as possible.
Changing timelines on Twitter
Our social media mission remains the same as it ever was, with all our activity designed to empower customers through accurate and timely information, customer service and provision of travel tools.
However, in the last few years, Twitter has introduced various changes to the way it serves content to its users, and these have impacted upon our ability to reliably deliver these real-time status updates to our followers.
Now selected content on Twitter is shown out of sequence, we will reduce the amount of minor alerts and focus on providing up-to-the-minute alerts for major issues, as well as a renewed focus on customer service across our various accounts.
Our teams will continue to work day and night to support customers including First Contact who take care of the Tube line Twitter feeds as well as CentreComm and LSTCC who have access to everything from iBus (our system for tracking London Buses) to police helicopters monitoring London from above.
Summary of Twitter’s changes in recent years
[list, ending with...]
• February 2016: ‘New home timeline’ emphasises the role of personalised content meaning only our high impact and important updates would be likely to reach customers in a useful and relevant way
Our presence on Twitter – Past and present
In light of the changes to the way Twitter serves content to it’s users, here is a summary of our main accounts and how we use them:
[insert table]
As and when the approach changes to any of our social media accounts, we will update our dedicated social media page on the TfL website which you can see at www.tfl.gov.uk/socialmedia
We’d love to hear what you think of the way we use Twitter, and the ways in which our various accounts are useful to you as well as the things we could be doing better. Please leave a comment on this post or tweet us with your thoughts at @TfL.
That can at least give a clue as to whether bus routes in a given area will also be affected. On some roads there are also jam cams (you need to select them via the menu list on the map) and you can then click on a camera to see a short video clip of the location. TfL have recently upgraded the system to play video rather than just show a static image.
The bus info is a bit irritating as it's a mix of realtime stuff which Centrecomm sees via its cameras / reported via bus drivers / bus control rooms plus a load of planned works where a Notice of Event (NOE) has been issued by the local area controller who will have met with the utility / comms company / council about the upcoming roadworks or event that will affect bus operation. They put up the diversion signs you see attached to lamp posts / traffic lights. I just don't think TfL have enough resource to maintain all the systems in real time. It's clear the guys doing the Twitter feed also send direct messages to Countdown screens about disruptions. However if they are inundated with incidents and tweets it must get very difficult to juggle everything and afford the various roles the right priority.
> "there still exists a "digital-divide" in this country."
There really does not.
TridentScan | Privacy Policy