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Expect delays! (via Transit Spotter ) ^AAH.” Since he can’t be everywhere at once, information is always incomplete, though he says, “Something is better than nothing.” Andrew says there are about 25 other people who help staff the hotline, which is why he tries to make sure each tweet is signed with the initials of the person who tweeted. (He declined several requests for interviews with other hotline staffers.) Aaron Steinfeld, for one, argues there’s value in the information Andrew provides, even if it’s incomplete. He’s a professor at Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute — and part of the team that helped develop the Tiramisu bus-tracking app. “Real-time information,” Steinfeld explains, has “a significant impact on rider perception about transit service,” since one of the biggest rider frustrations with transit is its unpredictability. And every time Andrew tweets about a disruption, or enters a bus into the Tiramisu app, he’s reducing that uncertainty — even if it’s only at the margins. “From a macro perspective, what [Andrew] is doing is very valuable,” Steinfeld says. “There’s a demand and interest in people sharing their experiences on transit.” And even though “Port Authority does provide information [on] its website, [they’re] very short-staffed when it comes to [real-time] information.” From Port Authority’s perspective, “We think [the hotline] is fine as long as the information’s accurate,” says Ritchie, who
declined to say whether the agency thinks @PGH_BUS_INFO meets that criterion. Port Authority is “making good use of the social media they have,” says Stuart Strickland, a transit advocate and follower of Andrew’s Twitter presence. “But the need for transit information is an order of magnitude higher than what Port Authority is providing.” Andrew’s value to the community, Steinfeld adds, isn’t just based on random data points: “He’s clearly an expert on the local transit system,” and facilitates discussions on transit issues. As Port Authority rolls out a $1.8 million real-time bus tracking project and begins to install electronic displays at high-volume stops, the value of Andrew’s twitter account may increasingly depend on people like Daniel Little, who uses it mostly as a forum for discussing issues like restoring streetcar service, or asking when a particular line was discontinued. Little says there should be more conversations about transit, but other than @PGH_BUS_INFO, “I don’t necessarily know where those conversations are taking place.” Still, Andrew isn’t particularly worried about Port Authority’s push for real-time information disrupting his operation — and suggests that people without smartphones are more than welcome to call in for real-time information. “There are going to be people who are left out,” he says. “Technology doesn’t cater to everyone.” A Z I M M E RM A N @ P G HC I T Y PA P E R. C OM
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