Last weekend saw the 3,000th person signed up to follow @MetroTravelNews on Twitter.

Metro has been Tweeting information about disruptions to bus and rail services and general traffic hold ups, to people on the move in West Yorkshire, since November 2009. In that time it has sent over 4,000 messages.

Using information provided by bus and rail operators, and the MetroLine call centre, Metro’s Public Relations team provides travel updates from early morning to late evening. Much of this information is backed up through the Alerts section of this and on the ‘West Yorkshire Metro’ Facebook page, which is now ‘liked’ by over 1,150 people.

Positive

“When we first launched @MetroTravelNews, we didn’t know how popular it would become but we have had so much very positive feedback from people telling us how useful they find it, particularly at times when there are widespread disruptions,” said Metro PR Manager Martin Driver.

“The service has come into its own through the periods of snow and ice over the past two winters when we have seen large numbers of people signing up to get the latest information.

“When we’re stuck in a traffic jam, we tend to be less stressed if we know the cause of it and how far away it is because we then feel a little bit more in control and I think by providing this information to people affected by disruptions, we are helping to give them an element of control over their situation even if that situation is stationary.

Invaluable

“We have also found Twitter and Facebook invaluable for alerting people to things such as timetable changes and other news items, and for responding to individual enquiries. We deal with feedback about our own services and we respond to comments about bus or train services by putting people in touch with the company, guiding them to our on-line feedback forms and passing issues onto our colleagues to raise at regular meetings with operators.

“With more and more people using smartphones, tablets and other devices to stay in touch wherever they are, it seems only right that with its commitment to providing high-quality transport information, Metro should be responding with this service.

“Overall it has been a highly positive and enjoyable way of connecting directly with the travelling public. ”

Follow MetroTravelNews on Twitter

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'Like' West Yorkshire Metro on Facebook