How transit riders and the general public receive up-to-the-minute and accurate details concerning transit services during emergencies periods has taken center stage in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, and tomorrow, I’ll be joining a panel at NYU’s Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management tomorrow morning to discuss the role social media plays in disseminating that information. The event is a breakfast in the Puck Building at 295 Lafayette St., and I’ll be joining folks from the MTA, NYC Department of Transportation and The New York Times — perhaps slightly awkwardly — as we discuss how social media both helps and hinders the spread of information.
Here’s the summary from the Rudin Center’s website: “From the front lines of Hurricane Sandy, New York’s transportation providers delivered information, images and video nonstop. Both official and informal information services emerged on social media networks to convey clearly the extent of infrastructure damage, and how New Yorkers could expect to get around.” We start at 8:30 and should wrap by 10 a.m. Check it out.
2 comments
I won’t be able to attend, but I hope someone throws out the fact that when the weekender first came out, the MTA said it would be impractical to put out a map rerouting of the system for weekend work, but managed it just fine in the weeks following Sandy.
Good call, Kevin. I’ll ask the question.