Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In

At Streetsblog Network member blog Planning Pool, this week is being billed as "Fail Week" -- a full five days on "information about bad planning, lack of planning, and planning generally gone awry." We can't wait to see what they'll be doing. There's certainly no shortage of potential topics.

Their first fail-related post actually has to do with a success of sorts -- the use of Twitter to highlight problems in transit:

transitFail.jpgOne of the more complicated aspects of Twitter are hashtags. Hashtags are words preceded by the hash symbol, #, like #transitFAIL.The purpose of a hashtag is to organize information and people. They areoften used to Tweet about current events, conferences, quotes,activities, memes, and other things. Mashable has a good explanation about how they work.…

One of my favorite planning-related hashtags is #transitFAIL.The purpose of #transitFAIL is to publicize where public transportationfails its customers and users. It’s a particularly effective tool,because you can use SMS messaging or use a web-enabled smartphone toinstantaneously tell the world about how transit just let you down.Some smartphones can even take photos or videos and upload them toTwitter, too.

Smart transit providers will use this feedback to improve theirservice and see where the problems are. I’d like to see transitproviders use Twitter to notify people about service changes or delays,too.

I didn't know about the #transitFAIL hashtag, but it's a good idea (we actually used "transitfail" as a tag in Flickr when we were putting together this user-generated slide show on lousy transit). Some transit agencies are using Twitter for service delays as well -- @NYCTSubwayScoop is an example. Will this ever evolve into standard practice? Should it? Or is the reach too narrow?

If you know of more good transit-related uses of Twitter, drop them in the comments.

Oh, and we're @streetsblog, in case you want to follow us.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

New Air Quality Stats Dispel Earlier Forecasts for Congestion Pricing Pollution

Air quality has improved or remained steady across the five boroughs since congestion pricing launched in January, city health department data showed.

July 7, 2025

New ‘Rush’ Routes Launch With Queens Overhaul More Than Five Years in the Making

The MTA's new "rush" routes make fewer stops in busy downtown areas to avoid wasted time merging in and out of traffic.

July 7, 2025

Monday’s Headlines: Run This Town Edition

The 34th Street busway is the latest casualty of the mayor's lack of a spine on transportation issues. Plus more news.

July 7, 2025

Beach Reading: Zohran Mamdani’s Answers to Streetsblog’s Mayoral Candidate Survey

Spend the holiday weekend with Zohran Mamdani's answers to Streetsblog's mayoral candidate questionnaire.

July 4, 2025

Friday Video: Why NYC Needs ‘Low-Traffic Neighborhoods’

London's Church Street, like so many of our business corridors, was choking on cars — until the advent of the low-traffic neighborhood.

July 4, 2025

Friday’s Headlines: E-Bikes in Parks … Permanently Edition

The Parks Department will permanently allow e-bikes in city parks following a two-year pilot. Plus more news.

July 4, 2025
See all posts