New York City transit agency pulls the brake on Twitter service alerts

New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which for 14 years has provided real-time information on service outages, delays, and other important transit updates for its 1.3 million Twitter followers, will no longer do so.

The MTA said Thursday that “Twitter is no longer reliable for providing the consistent updates riders expect.” For this reason, the agency tweeted, it will no longer use the platform for service alerts and information.

The MTA also listed other ways subway, train, and bus riders can get reliable transit information, including through its mta.info site, text alerts, and its Weekender newsletter for weekend advisories.

Twitter has long been a way for people to keep track of train delays, news, and weather alerts, or the latest crime warnings from their local police department.

But when the Elon Musk-owned platform started stripping blue verification check marks this month from accounts that don’t pay a monthly fee, it left public agencies and other organisations around the world scrambling to figure out a way to show they’re trustworthy and avoid impersonators.
New York City’s government Twitter account, for instance, pinned a tweet to its profile telling users that it is an “authentic Twitter account representing the New York City Government This is the only account for @NYCGov run by New York City government.”

While Twitter is now offering gold checks for “verified organisations” and gray checks for government organisations and their affiliates, the former comes at a cost too steep to justify for many agencies.

The MTA’s affiliate Twitter accounts, such as the @NYCTSubway account that replied to passengers, will also stop providing real-time alerts but encouraged riders to find other ways to get in touch, such as through WhatsApp.