NEW YORK – The New York City Metropolitan Transit Agency, which for 13 years has provided real-time information about service disruptions, delays and other important transit updates to its 1.3 million subscribers, will no longer do so.
There The New York MTA said on Thursday that “Twitter is no longer reliable in providing the constant updates that commuters expect.” For this reason, the agency tweeted, it will no longer use the platform for service alerts and information.
The MTA has also listed other ways for subway, rail, and bus riders to get reliable traffic information, including through its mta.info site, text alerts, and its Weekender newsletter for weekday notices. -end.
Twitter has long been a way for people to follow train delays, weather news and alerts, or the latest crime warnings from their local police department.
But when the Elon Musk-owned platform began removing blue ticks this month from accounts that don’t pay monthly fees, it left public agencies and other organizations around the world scrambling to find a solution. way to prove that they are trustworthy and avoid imitators. .
The New York City Government Twitter account, for example, posted a tweet on its profile telling users that it is an “authentic Twitter account representing the New York City government. It is This is the only @NYCGov account administered by the New York City government.”
While Twitter now offers gold checks for “verified organizations” and gray checks for government organizations and their affiliates, the former is too expensive for many agencies to justify.
MTA-affiliated Twitter accounts, such as the @NYCTSubway account that responded to riders, will also stop providing real-time alerts, but encourage riders to find other ways to communicate, such as WhatsApp.