Satisfying customers

The customer satisfaction scores recorded by Passenger Focus in its first major survey of bus passengers are good. Even the ‘bad’ scores are good. “Overall satisfaction is good,” says David Sidebottom, bus director at Passenger Focus. “Nothing appears to be broken.”

The highest scores were recorded in Brighton (92 per cent), and in Swindon and West Yorkshire (both 91 per cent). The lowest were in Greater Manchester and Stoke-on-Trent, both at 84 per cent. Sidebottom makes the point that many retailers would be delighted if they could achieve results like these.

In its survey, which covered 18,500 passengers in 14 areas across England, Passenger Focus concentrates on the journey just completed. This is intended to give a realistic assessment of the passenger’s actual experience, devoid of any influences – good or bad – carried over from other trips. This investigation looked at a range of factors such as punctuality, frequency, helpfulness and attitude of the driver and value for money.

Within the overall figures there are areas where the industry scores less well. Value for money ratings, for example, range from a low of 46 per cent in Medway to a high of 68 per cent in Cornwall. Sidebottom makes the point that value for money is not just about fares and draws a comparison with his experience in the rail industry. “When a train operating company does what it says it will do, passengers start to look at broader issues such as cleanliness.” So there’s no resting on their laurels for operators who perform well.

Sidebottom also observes that commuters are more critical than other passengers, not least because they will typically be using the service ten times a week, and may be paying a premium fare.
Reactions to the report have generally been positive. “I’m pleased that so many West Yorkshire bus passengers are satisfied with their bus journey,” says Chris Greaves, chairman of Metro, the West Yorkshire PTE. “It’s testament to the way Metro, the bus operators and the district councils work together to meet our aim of providing high-quality, accessible transport for everyone in West Yorkshire.”

Neighbouring South Yorkshire – where the score was 86 per cent against West Yorkshire’s 91 per cent – takes a different tack. The South Yorkshire PTE’s director of customer experience, David Young, responds: “We are disappointed that over one out of every ten bus passengers in South Yorkshire are not satisfied on each bus journey. We challenge bus operators to come forward with concrete plans to raise their standards and provide customers with the journey experience they deserve.”

And then in a remark which seems almost disingenuous, singling out as it does a tiny operator of demand-responsive services, Young adds: “Congratulations, however, to Sheffield Community Transport who achieved 98 per cent customer satisfaction - if they can please almost all of their customers, then why can’t other operators?” By the PTE’s own calculations SCT carries 151,000 passengers in a year. The region’s main operator carries almost twice that number on an average day.
Sidebottom is pleased with the reaction of the industry to the research. “Operators are positive about the way we’ve done the work, and the way we’ve presented it.”

That point is supported by Leon Daniels, customer services director for First UK Bus. “We are very satisfied with the results of this comprehensive survey carried out by Passenger Focus. This survey illustrates that the vast majority of our bus companies, and the staff working for them, are achieving very good levels of customer satisfaction.

“Where the survey has highlighted areas to work on, we have already drawn up plans to improve our performance. In many cases, in areas such as punctuality and journey time, this can only be achieved with closer working with our local authority partners, who can help tackle the bigger issues such as road congestion and bus priority.”

CPT chief executive Simon Posner picks up the subject of punctuality: “Many of the areas with the highest customer satisfaction rates have built their success through working in partnership with local authorities and transport executives by identifying local solutions for tackling traffic congestion and enabling the operators to improve – even further – on our punctuality rates.”

If the report – and those which will follow it – get more operators and local authorities talking, Sidebottom will be pleased, as long as they remember the end users. “We want to see passengers put into that partnership,” he says, “and to get people’s minds focussed on what passengers are saying.” 

www.passengerfocus.org.uk

Photo: David Sidebottom, Passenger Focus bus director.