MTA says Twitter service back on track after promise of reliability
May 4, 2023, 6:25 p.m.
The agency recently said it would stop tweeting commuter rail alerts, but returned Thursday after Twitter reportedly changed its policy.
It turns out the MTA will continue posting updates on Twitter after all.
The agency said Twitter has reversed course since initially asking the MTA to pay in order to share service information with the public. The news comes a week after the MTA said it would muzzle any future tweets about commuter rail alerts, calling Twitter unreliable after the agency’s access to the social media platform was involuntarily interrupted twice in a span of two weeks.
“The MTA informed Twitter senior management that it would not pay to provide the public with critical service information," MTA Acting Chief Customer Officer Shanifah Rieara said in a statement. "Twitter got the message and reversed its plan to charge the MTA more than half a million dollars per year for these alerts, so now no transit agency will need to pay."
Rieara added, "The MTA also received written assurances from Twitter that reliability on the platform will be guaranteed through technological means, so riders can count on receiving messages posted on Twitter."
Rieara said last week that Twitter was responsible for multiple service interruptions at a time when the company had moved to prioritize and verify accounts that sign up for its monthly paid subscription of Twitter Blue.
Twitter responded to a request for comment with a "poop" emoji.
The MTA announced its return to the platform on Thursday afternoon.
We’re glad that Twitter has committed to offering free API access for public service providers.
— MTA (@MTA) May 4, 2023
We’ve made critical investments in digital products, such as our apps and station screens, to communicate with customers. But Twitter is a part of that toolkit.
Twitter has continued making headlines since Elon Musk purchased the platform last year, with issues including a sporadic shifting of verified checks and other account labeling features. Twitter recently labeled NPR, for example, as "state-affiliated media," to which the news outlet responded by leaving the platform altogether. Musk later reportedly threatened to assign the Twitter handle to another company if the news outlet did not return.
The MTA said it will still continue to post the same updates to all in-house resources, including the agency's phone apps and web pages, along with email alerts and text messages.
"We will continue to closely monitor to ensure Twitter meets the reliability standard riders deserve," Rieara said.
MTA suspends sharing service updates on 'unreliable' Twitter