Complaining about the T has become a favorite pastime for riders as they pass each stop observing their surroundings while tweeting or blogging about it.
But a handful of riders have used online interactions with MBTA officials as an opportunity to try and improve the experience.
In February, Laurie, who didn’t want to use her last name, started the Twitter account “RideLikeCharlie.”
Her “rants about the MBTA” quickly turned into useful info about what’s happening on various lines.
With a legion of followers, she jabs at the transit general manager when she sees an issue on the system.
“I’ve always been interested in urban development and environmental planning,” she said. “I think the T has gotten better over the past year with their use of Twitter. They are always responsive to problems.”
Dan Lampariello took an interest in T activities and began blogging and tweeting regularly to get train information out there.
The 20-year-old Suffolk student, who uses “Boston_to_a_T” to communicate with the MBTA, recently urged officials to be more transparent.
They listened.
“[Dan’s] suggestion got us thinking about how we could use ‘Flickr’ to show our customers pictures of the work we do every day,” interim GM Jon Davis said.
Follow Steve Annear on Twitter @steveannear.
