Politicians have been much ridiculed in recent times for their attempts at using modern media tools. From David’s WebCameron to Gordon’s infamous YouTube appearances our elected representatives often seem to fail to make the most of these new ways to connect with voters.
Not so Boris, however, who this week was praised for his use of the popular Twitter service.
er, Tweet?
It turns out that during the recent hot spell many London buses had their heating turned up to the maximum which made an already sweltering public transport service completely unbearable. Drivers also told passengers that it was impossible to reduce the temperature in their buses.
The Mayor’s Twitter site was inundated during the heatwave with messages from boiling hot passengers complaining about the heat on their services. After several days of gripes BoJo took the issue to his transport advisor Kulveer Ranger and a letter was sent to Transport for London about the problem. TFL swiftly responded and agreed to turn off the heating in a number of buses.
Bozza twittered “To those of you who tweeted about bus heaters being on. You guys are right! Its hot enough! Have spoken to TFL. They’ve sorted the problemâ€?, a message that was gratefully received by many of London’s bus travellers.
PR professionals also praised the Mayor’s actions, not only for making the most of the Twitter service but also for their speed in responding to Londoners’ complaints.
Gordo might well have been pilloried for his recent 21st century media tactics but it seems that Boris is in a tiny minority of politicians that actually know how to make the most of these new communication tools.
The problem of overheating buses has been around for some years now – and so has a solution.
See caldotherm’s website for a range of automatic bus heating controls.
All I’m saying is: Boris isn’t following me and he’s a mayor. Barack Obama IS following me, and he’s President of the United States. I’m not making any promises, I’m just saying…