Communications Brief:

WMATA

Rachel Salabes

Corporate Communications

April 7, 2011
I. Background

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) is a tri-jurisdictional

government agency, officially created on February 20, 1967.i The agency began as the result of an

interstate compact, an agreement between District of Columbia, Virginia, and Maryland.ii

WMATA created its train system in 1969 and two years later, the agency also acquired the area’s

bus service.iii WMATA currently has over 1.2 million daily riders and is working to incorporate a

new metro line that will reach Dulles International Airport.iv Over the past several years, WMATA

has been greatly impacted by the country’s recession, dealing with a massive budget crisis. The

agency is currently attempting to overcome the $189.2 million gap in its operation budget for

2011.v

II. The Problem

WMATA faces a budget deficit, a rapidly growing population in the DC area, and an aging

metro system; however, these problems are all magnified by WMATA's poor communication with

the public. Every week, popular local news website TBD grades metro in areas such as safety,

reliability and communication. For the week of March 25, 2011, Metro received an F in

communication, stating “Metro, it doesn’t matter if you communicate your early openings and

scheduled station closings, if you can’t communicate when things aren’t scheduled.”vi

Web and social media monitoring reveals countless unhappy users. There are multiple

Facebook pages and Twitter accounts dedicated to the failures of WMATA, such as

@metroshutsdoors, a play on WMATA’s Metro Opens Doors campaign. There are also many

blogs in the local DC area dedicated to reporting (mostly negatively) about Metro, such as

Unsuck DC Metro which recently posted,

“Anyone who follows the continuing saga of Metro knows the transit agency has been
almost a complete flop when it comes to providing information about itself to the public it
serves.” vii
Issues also exist with a lack of participation and input from the public. It was widely reported that

at a public hearing on March 21, 2011, only two people testified and zero board members

attended.viii

III. Communications Plan

As the new communications director for WMATA, I am proposing an effective

communications plan that will help to restore WMATA’s reputation in the eyes of local

constituents. This plan will work toward three objectives: Improving communication with

WMATA riders, increasing community participation and input on public issues, and increasing

positive coverage in local news media.

One of the most prevalent complaints made by Metro riders is the lack of communication

from WMATA. Several recent comments from a Washington Post transportation blog, include:

• We were stopped in the tunnel for quite a while, with no updates from the operator except
that we were "holding until we receive further instructions."ix
• My problem is that there was no communication at all from any Metro official. My train
conductor did not mention that there was a problem and there was no announcement in the
train station...The lack of communication and involvement by Metro officials today,
during what could have been a serious emergency, has made me consider finding
alternative transportation to work.x

In order to improve communication, a new plan will be implemented for metro delays. First,

passengers must be made aware of any delays as soon as the conductor is informed. For example,

“moving momentarily” or saying nothing when the conductor is aware of at least a several minute

delay is unacceptable. If the reason for the delay is known, the conductor must explain this

information to passengers. If a conductor is unsure of details about a delay that is occurring, he or

she must say an update will be communicated as soon as possible. This simple increase in

communication allows passengers to understand the situation, make proper travel arrangements

and inform employers if necessary.

 To increase communication and build a positive relationship with metro riders, WMATA

needs to improve its social media strategy. While the agency does have a presence on some social

networks, there needs to be an effective strategy in place for each of these channels. After a

controversy in August of 2010xi, WMATA shut down its Facebook page, resulting in several

unofficial pages. Despite the controversy, WMATA needs to reactivate the official page to unite

riders in one common place. WMATA can use this page to link to videos, to post polls asking for

input and to gauge public reaction on new policies. While this page should be monitored for spam

and have strict discussion policies in place, discussion should be encouraged, giving riders a

forum to communicate with WMATA other than public hearings. This will serve to initiate a

much needed dialogue between the public and WMATA employees.

In addition to communicating information on delays and service schedules, the Twitter

account should provide information to riders that can not necessarily be found elsewhere. For

example, WMATA should begin tweeting helpful tips concerning local events, such as Nationals

and Capitals games, and seasonal events like the Cherry Blossom festival. Tips could include

what metro stops to take and the best times to travel. Riders want to feel that WMATA cares

about providing passengers with as smooth of a journey as possible.

WMATA can also begin to engage in a dialogue with passengers through Twitter. It has

been shown repeatedly that directly communicating with customers can improve a company's

reputation. In many circumstances, WMATA can post helpful replies to riders. Using a real tweet

from a twitter user, an example could be:

emrldcitychick Note: Escalators on south side of Dupont all out. Had to walk up. All the
way up. Now exhausted. #wmata xii
Example tweet: Metroopensdoors @emrldcitychick Apologize for escalator outage.
Repairs should be complete by tomorrow morning’s rush hour.
This simple response shows that WMATA is working to engage in a dialogue and cares about

customer input. Furthermore, when a public hearing is approaching, WMATA can send out

tweets encouraging participation from followers. Many are not aware of forms on the website that

can be submitted to WMATA with recommendations. Tweets can link to these forms, further

encouraging people to provide their opinion.

Although WMATA tries to involve the public by inviting them to public meetings, this is

not enough in today’s digitally connected society. Only small fractions of those interested can

physically attend meetings. While WMATA does currently post YouTube videos, WMATA must

start using other social networks to make meetings more accessible. Beginning in the next several

months, meetings should be live streamed for those that cannot attend. Main points discussed

throughout the meetings can also be live tweeted by an employee with a designated hashtag.

Making the public hearings widely available helps to increase the agency’s transparency and

further encourages participation. By implementing these changes, WMATA can address the

public’s perception that it does not care about input from the community.

IV. Implementation

First, this communications plan will be explained and outlined in an op-ed by General

Manager Richard Sarles. It will be placed in prominent local papers, such as The Washington

Post and The Express, a paper popular with Metro riders. This will guarantee that these new plans

are communicated to the public and will be picked up by other local media, including blogs,

television and local news sites. Simultaneously, the communication strategy should be posted

immediately on the website and all social media accounts. This will have an instant impact on the

public and will immediately begin improving WMATA’s transparency.

The new communications procedures outlined for delays must be distributed to employees

and implemented within two weeks of the release of the op-ed, guaranteeing the public will
quickly see improvements. Four weeks following the op-ed, WMATA should implement the new

Twitter strategy and restore the Facebook page. As part of this process, a discussion policy should

be agreed upon as quickly as possible. Once the page is activated, content should be posted at

least once a day and an employee should be monitoring the discussion taking place. Every several

days, a summary of the most useful comments and poll results should be given to proper

personnel. By the following month, the new public hearing procedures should be outlined and

implemented, including the policies regarding live streaming and tweeting.

Success will be measured mainly through web, news and social media monitoring.

Closely examining the web and other media will reveal if coverage of WMATA has become more

positive. Public awareness is essential for this plan to be successful; therefore, WMATA must

monitor blogs and social networks on a regular basis to ensure the community is aware of the

changes that WMATA is making. By searching the #wmata hashtag on Twitter and examining

online comments, WMATA can analyze what issues are being discussed, which issues need to be

addressed and whether the changes are being well received. To analyze public participation,

WMATA will measure the amount of input received from the community, including the number

of participants attending, watching and discussing public hearings

V. Summary and recommendations for action

In the past several years, WMATA's reputation has continued to falter in the eyes of the

public. Issues with communication have been highlighted by the local media and have resulted in

extensive discussion on blogs and social networks. By improving communication with the public,

increasing positive media coverage and increasing participation from the community, WMATA

can improve its image.

The new communications plan includes improving communication regarding delays with

passengers, implementing a new Twitter strategy, and reactivating the WMATA Facebook page.
The revamping of these accounts will encourage input and participation from the local

population. To further encourage participation and increase transparency, WMATA will begin to

live stream and live tweet public meetings, making them more accessible. All of these changes

will begin with an op-ed placed in a local paper outlining the new communications plans, with all

plans taking effect within the next two months.

i
“Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority”. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Metropolitan_Area_Transit_Authority
ii
Ibid.
iii
Ibid.
iv
“Metrorail records sixth highest weekday ridership day”. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. 10 Apr 2009.
http://www.wmata.com/about_metro/news/PressReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=2549
v
Simpson, Craig. “WMATA budget deep dive, part 1: Metrorail service cuts”. Greater Greater Washington. 23 Feb 2010.
http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/4892/wmata-budget-deep-dive-part-1-metrorail-service-cuts/
vi
Cough, Sarah. “Metro Grade: WMATA needs a time out”. TBD. 25 Mar 2011.
http://www.tbd.com/articles/2011/03/metro-grade-wmata-needs-at-time-out-57179.html
vii
“Opening up at Metro”. Unsuck DC Metro. 26 July 2010. http://unsuckdcmetro.blogspot.com/2010/07/opening-up-at-
metro.html
viii
Weir, Kytja. “Metro board, public skip budget hearing”. Washington Examiner. 21 Mar 2011.
http://washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/capital-land/2011/03/metro-board-public-skip-budget-hearing
ix
Berman, Mark. “Blue, Orange lines delays cleared”. Washington Post. 13 Dec 2010. Comment by DCLiz.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dr-gridlock/2010/12/potential_metro_delays.html
x
Berman, Mark. “Blue, Orange lines delays cleared”. Washington Post. 13 Dec 2010. Comment by LibraLady1.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dr-gridlock/2010/12/potential_metro_delays.html
xi
"Where's WMATA's Facebook Page?” Unsuck DC Metro. http://unsuckdcmetro.blogspot.com/2010/08/wheres-wmatas-
facebook-page.html
xii
http://twitter.com/emrldcitychick 5 Apr 2011.