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Metro’s Research and Development team has been gathering and analyzing data on Metro bus/rail users since 2003. The annual customer satisfaction survey was implemented to help inform transit planners and division managers of overall customer satisfaction, on-time performance, cleanliness, safety, as well as track demographic shifts in Metro ridership.
This year’s survey showed positive trends with regard to customer views on bus on-time performance, cleanliness of stations, median income of riders and an increase in bike usage as a means of getting to a stop/station.
One statistic of interest is the continued increase in cell phone, specifically smartphone, access (see the charts below). Services such as Metro.net, the Go Metro App, and Google Maps are able to provide more transit users up to the minute information regarding Metro services. If you are one of the 47 percent of Metro users without a smartphone and/or you speak another language, don’t worry — Metro will continue to provide information in the traditional way.
RELATED POSTS: Compare this year’s results to last year’s survey.
Categories: Surveys
@Dennis Hindman, I have edited the original post to include two charts depicting 2013 satisfaction and pride for the Orange Line and Red Line.
@Joe B, The survey lines, stops, times, and directions were randomly selected from Metro’s master trip list. This data is then weighted using a variable that helps account for the difference between surveys completed in each region and average daily ridership within that region.
As far as asking about door-to-door travel time, while that would provide users information about how long a metro trip might take, the variation in that data would make it hard to draw any accurate inferences. Travel time to the stop/station and time waiting at the station provides Metro vital information about how well served an area is (in terms of proximity to bus/train stops) as well as bus/train frequency in the area.
How were the surveys given in order to get a representative sample? Also, in addition to asking how long it takes them to walk to the bus and how long the wait is, have you considered asking them about their door-to-door travel time?
I would like to see the level of satisfaction from using the Orange Line BRT compared to other buses in the area and the Red Line subway station in North Hollywood.
Michael, They have done that with the Gold line during peak times, late peak, and weekend. More 2 car trains rather than 3 car trains. I have found that I look at the schedule less than I did before. That is the way it should be for most of the time.
This is fascinating. Thanks for sharing! I’m fascinated, in particular, by the continued rise in smartphone usage. Did the survey ask any questions, or make it possible, to learn anything about the characteristics of the non-smartphone users? Metro has done, in my opinion, an excellent job of making information accessible to smartphone holders. The challenge I face presently is in ensuring that I can make information available to non-smartphone holders,
Can researchers at UCLA get access to the underlying data?
Instead of LONG trains that come every ten minutes, it would be great to have shorter ones every five, even if you have to pay twice as many drivers, you’d get ridership up and people to work faster.
Very Nice Matt. Good Job on first Metro Source Posting!!!