Itsrr Releases Inaugural Survey Of Bus Users

ITSRR Releases Inaugural Survey of Bus Users

Sydney bus users have rated the cleanliness of seats and friendliness of drivers as the top aspects of service in a new customer satisfaction survey commissioned by the Independent Transport Safety and Reliability Regulator (ITSRR).

Users of Sydney Buses and private bus operators in the Sydney metropolitan area were interviewed for the survey which will be conducted annually to measure changes over time in the quality of bus services from a customer perspective.

More than 2,300 bus users were surveyed and asked to rate both the importance and the quality of ten specific aspects of bus services:
* buses keeping to the timetable
* journey time considering the distance travelled
* buses not being too crowded in peak commuter times
* always getting a seat on the bus
* bus connections with other public transport
* timetable information clearly displayed at bus stops
* easily getting information on tickets and fares
* comfortable seats
* clean seats
* helpful and friendly drivers.

For all but one of the ten aspects of service, the satisfaction level was at least 70%. Clean seats was the aspect of service with the highest level of customer satisfaction (92%) and buses not being too crowded in peak hours had the lowest level of customer satisfaction (60%).

Bus users were also asked questions about specific experiences and perceptions in the six months prior to the survey. Key findings included:
* 25% of bus users said that they were delayed by 10 minutes or more at least once a week
* 24% said they were left standing at the bus stop at least once a week (because the bus was too full, did not stop or did not turn up)
* 33% had wanted to catch a bus at times when the services had stopped operating
* 83% of bus users said that the bus routes in their area went where they wanted to go.

The full report on the Survey of Metropolitan Bus Users 2009 is available on ITSRR's website at www.transportregulator.nsw.gov.au

MEDIA CONTACT: Susan Everingham 02 8263 7161

SOURCE: Independent Transport Safety & Reliability Regulator (ITSRR)