Obviously, if you don’t take SEPTA or if you don’t have a Twitter account, you can pretty much ignore this post. However, if you do, trust me when I say there is a good reason the tickers at the stations advertise their Twitter account.
I forget how I found out about SEPTA’s @SEPTA_SOCIAL account as it was before they advertised it in the stations. Nonetheless, I’m glad I did. Believe it or not, SEPTA actually has some pretty damn good customer service, or at least on Twitter. While you shouldn’t expect a response to a tweet to SEPTA_SOCIAL as fast as you might from calling SEPTA (if you don’t have the number, the next time you’re at a bus stop, jot it down from the signpost), I’ve nonetheless found them very helpful, especially when I had a trip planning disaster.
I’ve been up to King of Prussia plenty of times, but I’ve never done it via SEPTA. I thought I had done my homework and planned everything out ahead of time, but I was actually pretty far from it. Cost of a transfer? Got that wrong. How to get back? Got that wrong too. Needless to say, panic on Twitter time while on the bus to a co-op interview. I ended up taking the scenic route (the Norristown High Speed Line), but since I was in no rush, it was a nice ride, and I was just happy to be able to get back to Drexel, I didn’t mind at all. Plus, the NHSL has some really cool rolling stock. Thanks again, SEPTA.
SEPTA is on Twitter for more than just customer service though. Just about every SEPTA service has a dedicated Twitter feed where service disruptions are posted. The ReadyPA alerts usually go out faster, but the Twitter feeds are pretty fast and equally helpful, at least I think they are. For all alerts, just follow the @SEPTA account. I found out about the recent Trolley work via their Twitter feeds long before the signs were posted at the 33rd St. station (and how to still get to Trader Joe’s without them).
Overall, I like the new outreach efforts SEPTA is taking. SEPTA’s far from a flawless system, and based on what they’re doing on Twitter, I think they realize that.
