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TfL campaign doesn’t do much to reassure angry commuters

Posted in General, Advertising, Creative, Mel Varley, Latest reporters' blogs January 11th, 2008 by Melinda Varley

Currently, TfL is running a radio campaign explaining that it will be improving trains, tracks and staff training to increase the efficiency of the tube and rail networks around London.

However, does this campaign go far enough to calm down the angry commuters stuck in tunnels for hours at a time while simply trying to get home from a long day at work?

As well as informing commuters, perhaps TfL should consider circulating a campaign that keeps staff informed too - delay’s this week left most of its workers in a daze about what to do when something goes wrong.

Last night I boarded a Jubilee tube at Bond Street and then sat in the platform for over 25 minutes. The driver announced that the delay was due to multiple signal failures at Finchley Road and that they were waiting for engineers to be sent out. The driver then urged customers to take alternative routes. However mine would involve a bus and an extra hour and a half.

The train finally moved on and terminated at Baker Street where I boarded a Metropolitan train as the TfL workers there informed me that it would stop at Willesden Green, which is within walking distance of my home.

However, after boarding that train I realised that it was not going to stop at Willesden Green and I had to get off at Finchley Road.

So I waited for a Jubilee line train there, because staff had said the line would be running. I waited for a further 25 minutes before a tube finally arrived. However, the doors did not open and after waiting for 15 minutes I boarded another Metropolitan line tube to go to Wembley Park, hoping to catch the Jubilee line in the opposite direction to my station. I waited there for 20 minutes, taking my total journey time  (usually 25 minutes) up to a grand total of almost two hours.

The point is, although TfL has the campaign running urging commuters to be patient, it’s the staff that appear to have no clue what’s going on.

Standing on the platform I noticed a man frantically pushing the help button and receiving only a busy signal. He had no idea how to get home without using the tube – neither did staff.

If the campaign can reach commuters how come its not reaching TfL’s staff? The importance of a coherent internal communications campaign cannot be underestimated.