Metrolinx apologizes after AI was used to respond to frustrated transit rider following Coldplay concert

GO Transit issued an apology after an AI reply to a Coldplay concert complaint sparked backlash on social media. Lindsay Biscaia reports.

Metrolinx says it was inappropriate to use artificial intelligence to respond to a customer complaint about GO Transit service from Rogers Stadium following Coldplay’s concert on Monday.

The Crown company announced last week three additional southbound GO trains on the Barrie line from Downsview Park GO, where the new 50,000 seat venue is located, to Toronto’s Union Station to get concertgoers into the city after the sold-out show.

However, as an X user named Ange pointed out in a tweet directed at GO on Tuesday, the last northbound train leaves Downsview at 11:13 p.m.

“We had to leave early the show was still going and (we had to) run and run and just made it on,” they wrote.

In response, GO Transit said in a since-deleted tweet: “Sounds like Ange had a dramatic dash to catch that last northbound GO train at 11:13 p.m. That’s cutting it close!”

The tweet went on to say that GO Transit’s schedules can vary depending on the line and day, but that it is “always smart to check the latest train times before heading out — especially after events downtown.” Rogers Stadium is located in North York.

GO Transit then offered to help Ange look up train times and backup options before telling them: “You go visit our website” for more options.

In a statement to CTV News Toronto, Metrolinx said that while all its social media accounts are run exclusively by Metrolinx employees, the GO Transit account is supported by a contract centre vendor to respond to customer queries and, “in this case,” a reply was “inappropriately drafted by our vendor using AI.”

“We recognize that we did not meet our customer support standards, and we have provided clear direction to our vendor that AI cannot be used under any circumstances. We apologize for any confusion this might have caused our customers,” a spokesperson said in an email.

GO Transit response was ‘condescending’: Ontario MPP

Ajax MPP Rob Cerjanec took a screenshot of the GO Transit tweet before it was wiped from the internet and in a statement to CTV News, he called the AI-generated response “condescending.”

“Good customer service requires empathy and understanding of the concern being raised so that improvements can be made and trust is built. That’s what the public expects of government and public agencies like Metrolinx and GO Transit,” Cerjanec, who serves as the Ontario Liberal critic for tourism, sport, and culture, wrote in an email Thursday.

“If concert goers are being told to take transit and that there’s going to be extra trains, those trains should leave in all directions after the concert is done. I think this is a lesson for Metrolinx and GO Transit that they need to adjust their schedules so people can actually get to and from this venue, which is pretty hard to get to,” he added.

Rogers Stadium’s rocky start

Rogers Stadium has been met with mixed reviews since it opened last month.

While some concertgoers have had nothing but good things to say about the temporary outdoor concert space, located at the site of the former Downsview Airport Lands, others have complained about long waits to exit, swaying grandstands, and difficulty getting there.

One of those critics includes Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, who jabbed the venue on the first two nights of the British band’s four-night, sold-out residency.

“Thank you for being here, anyway, and especially thank you for travelling on the strange quest that you had to travel on to get to this very bizarre stadium, a million miles from earth,” Martin said Tuesday night after calling the venue a “weird stadium in the middle of nowhere” on Monday.

Live Nation Canada, which operates the concert space, made adjustments to the venue ahead of Coldplay’s concerts and after complaints first surfaced following its inaugural concert.

K-pop group Blackpink will take the stage in the city’s north end later this month. Chris Brown, Oasis, System of a Down, and Hozier, are all set to perform at Rogers Stadium later this summer.