How Public Transport Could Benefit from Social Media? Evidence from European Agencies

Currently, there has been a research focus on exploiting the information that can be extracted from social media platforms for scientific purposes. Social media data is dynamic, user-generated, and includes a combination of spatial, temporal, and textual information. Mining and analyzing transport information from social media is a relatively new field and it can be used during transportation planning and management, as well as for supporting the achievement of specific transport policy goals. In addition, social media provide public transport agencies with an unparalleled opportunity to connect with their customers. This paper explores the use of social media among public transport agencies in Europe. In this context, a relevant literature review was combined with original findings obtained from a survey on selected public transport agencies. Relevant information was derived from online sources, including blog posts, websites, online journals and publications. The survey results provided an integrated overview of the use of social media among the selected agencies. Public transport operators use social media mainly for: (a) real-time updates and information, (b) information to customers regarding services, fares, and services disruptions, (c) engaging citizens by handling complaints and inquiries, (d) employee recognition and recruitment of staff and (e) video entertainment and contests. Twitter was most commonly used for short communications and service updates, Facebook for short announcements and service updates, but also for community building and branding. Organizations employ YouTube and Instagram to build community support, whereas LinkedIn was used for networking and recruitment.