Those public transport operators who already use passenger surveys may not fully appreciate the multiple benefits that surveys can bring. Surveys provide an efficient method for conducting market research that will then help identify passenger dissatisfaction and they are also an ideal tool for measuring the effects of any improvements that have been implemented and can help promote the new initiatives.

Establishing a Starting Point

When embarking on any change management programme it is always good practice to establish a base line before any changes are made. This baseline survey can serve four purposes, it will:-

• allow the proper targeting of investment
• allow measurement of the effect of change
• assist in the moral of those implementing change
• ensure that new issues are kept separate from the original plan and budget

Targeting Investment

There are many areas of any public transport system that can cause passenger dissatisfaction all of which need to be monitored to ensure that the service being provided meets, and where possible, exceeds, performance level targets.

Issues that can be of concern to passenger include:-

• safety and security
• punctuality
• fares and ticket types
• capacity and overcrowding
• quality and design of vehicle
• cleanliness
• facilities at stations and terminals
• facilities for passengers with disabilities

Often limited resources and budgets means that investment needs to be carefully planned and properly targeted.

Operators can use passenger surveys to ascertain from their customers what the main concerns are. By analysing passenger feedback the operator can ensure that their improvement and investment plans are in line with passenger demands and concerns. Issues can be classified into low and high priority, as well as short and long term plans.

Some capital investment such as the building of new terminals, runways, laying new track or upgrading air traffic control or rail signalling equipment may take years to implement. However, the initial survey will almost certainly highlight some concerns that can be resolved almost immediately at a relative low cost.

Measuring Change

From having established a comprehensive programme from an initial survey the objectives for running periodic surveys are twofold.

One aim will be to check that passenger concerns have been properly addressed by any of the changes and initiatives that have been implemented. A second objective will be to promote and advertise the initiatives that have been implemented and also educate and inform passengers of ongoing improvements and future plans.

Passengers need to know that their concerns have been understood and once that they know that the operators have acknowledged the problems and are taking steps to address them they can become more tolerant towards the outstanding problems.

Keeping Moral

Those implementing change can often develop a siege mentality. Passengers can be slow to appreciate any improvements as changes can be implemented that will take time before they become effective.

By monitoring passenger opinion and measuring the results against earlier surveys a successful change programme should see passenger issues change over time, some issues that were problems will no longer be raised.

It will take time for passengers to fully appreciate progress and often those working on a change project will need to brace themselves for a barrage of criticism from what is often an impatient public. It is essential that a team implementing change can see clearly the effects of their efforts.

Identifying New and Old

In any long term change management programme issues can change over time. The situation can change instantly so that due to an event what was important, is no longer important and what wasn’t an issue, is suddenly an issue.

Having the passengers concerns chronologically documented is possible if a baseline survey is taken. Passengers are themselves an evolving group, individual travel arrangements change, fashion changes, life styles develop along with technology. With surveys run on a regular basis any changes in passenger attitudes can be easily monitored.

Online Surveys Make It Easy

Online surveys can reach a broad cross section of any travelling public. They are quick to design and implement and they provide feedback in a format that is ready for detailed analysis. Because online surveys are low cost and flexible there is no need to generalise and instead publish multiple detailed surveys aimed at fully understanding the aims of specific groups such as the disabled passenger, the business traveller and single parents travelling with children.

Online surveys provide operators with important market research data as well as a platform to promote and advertise their commitment to passenger satisfaction.

Passengers will benefit from having an effective channel to raise issues and through regular surveys the passengers will start to appreciate that the operator is committed to investing and improving the service. The following are links to samples of Passenger Surveys

Sample Passenger Survey for an Airline Carrier: Airline Passenger Survey

Passenger Survey for a Train Operator: Train Operator Passenger Survey

Sample Passenger Survey for a Bus Operator: Bus Operator Passenger Survey

EEP100 – Lecture 3 – Damian Bickett

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Surveys $89.99 Doug Rappel Surveys – Limited Edition

Passenger $14.99 Passenger

The Passenger $101.87 Passenger

Sample Surveys (Hardcover) $475.16 This new handbook contains the most comprehensive account of sample surveys theory and practice to date. It is a second volume on sample surveys, with the goal of updating and extending the sampling volume published as volume 6 of the Handbook of Statistics in 1988. The present handbook is divided into two volumes (29A and 29B), with a total of 41 chapters, covering current developments in almost every aspect of sample surveys, with references to important contributions and available software. It can serve as a self contained guide to researchers and practitioners, with appropriate balance between theory and real life applications. Each of the two volumes is divided into three parts, with each part preceded by an introduction, summarizing the main developments in the areas covered in that part. Volume 29A deals with methods of sample selection and data processing, with the later including editing and imputation, handling of outliers and measurement errors, and methods of disclosure control. The volume contains also a large variety of applications in specialized areas such as household and business surveys, marketing research, opinion polls and censuses. Volume 29B is concerned with inference, distinguishing between design-based and model-based methods and focusing on specific problems such as small area estimation, analysis of longitudinal data, categorical data analysis and inference on distribution functions. The volume contains also chapters dealing with case-control studies, asymptotic properties of estimators and decision theoretic aspects. Comprehensive account of recent developments in sample survey theory and practiceDiscusses a wide variety of diverse applicationsComprehensive bibliography

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