Photo by Jordan Barab Follow

With Metro’s SafeTrack plan underway, WMATA has hired four employees to tackle anxious riders’ concerns about the yearlong maintenance plan.

Although a Metro survey conducted last month revealed that only about 16 percent of respondents take to Twitter for SafeTrack information, WMATA has hired four new employees to address concerns on the social media platform. The new hires will respond to inquiries such as delays and detours on Twitter, Metro spokesperson Richard Jordan told DCist. During the week, team members will also offer travel information in addition to existing service alert notifications, according to a WMATA document.

Each new hire comes from the private sector with experience dealing with online interactions for companies, Lynn Bowersox, Metro’s customer service head, told WTOP. “They have special skills and experience that nobody else in our call center has had,” Bowersox continued, adding that this specific customer service initiative will launch before Labor Day.

While the District is a “Twitter town,” according to Bowsersox, the social media site isn’t the go-to source for service information. The survey also revealed that 52 percent of respondents search for service information from the WMATA website, 26 percent stay informed by reading newspapers, 20 percent are updated via television, and 17 percent are informed by websites other than Metro, according to the document. The survey also asked if riders get updates from press releases, radio, word of mouth, apps, and the WMATA Facebook page, which only one percent of survey respondents said they utilize for information about track maintenance.

Officials at WMATA’s board meeting on July 9 discussed using multiple sources for customer awareness including “earned media, paid media, social media, customer outreach and system signage,” according to the document. Part of the plan includes bilingual outreach teams that will hit the streets, giving out information at targeted stations ahead of their maintenance dates.

The first surge, which directly affects East Falls Church to Ballston on the Orange and Silver Lines, ends on June 16. SafeTrack’s second surge, will begin on June 18, and it will include the temporary closure of the Potomac Avenue and Stadium Armory stations.

To oversee SafeTrack operations, Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld announced the hiring of Laura Mason earlier this month. Metro spokesperson Dan Stessel told The Washington Post that Mason comes with more than a decade of experience, leading teams “through complex infrastructure projects.” Her most recent job was an executive at Bechtel, an engineering, construction, and project management company.