TfNSW Customer Satisfaction Index May 2021

Sydney / New South Wales Transport Discussion
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tonyp
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TfNSW Customer Satisfaction Index May 2021

Post by tonyp »

TfNSW has published its latest six-monthly customer satisfaction survey of all transport modes in NSW. For public transport, the following are the key figures.

Suburban trains, buses and light rail each rated at 93% satisfaction, while ferry rated at 99% and metro at 98%. Suburban trains and buses have risen from 79% in 2012, light rail from 91% in 2012, ferries from 94% in 2012 and metro from 95% in 2019.

Suburban train passengers were most satisfied with access to train stations, ticketing and safety and security and least satisfied with frequency, journey time and time taken to connect with other transport.

Bus passengers were most satisfied with safety and security and least satisfied with frequency and service delays. Buses are the only mode that has to complete with other traffic on its shared "right of way" so the last point is hardly surprising.

Light rail passengers were most satisfied with safety, security and cleanliness and least satisfied with journey time, frequency, seat availability and personal space.

Metro passengers were most satisfied with cleanliness, accessibility and ease of getting on and off trains and least satisfied with time to connect with other transport and ease of getting to the metro station.

Ferries have an unfair advantage because they are inherently the most delightful form of public transport and, nowadays, also the fastest. Ferry passengers were most satisfied with safety, security, accessibility and ease of getting on and off ferries and least satisfied with frequencies.

A common issue through most modes is dissatisfaction with service (and service delay) information. That's something that's in TfNSW's court.

Dissatisfaction percentages on specific criteria are generally lowest (indeed miniscule) for ferries. Transdev is obviously doing something right there. Other notable good scores for specific features are:

Journey time for the distance travelled - metro has a perfect score with complete satisfaction; followed by ferries with only 1% dissatisfied, buses 4% dissatisfied, suburban trains with 7% dissatisfied and light rail with 8% dissatisfied.

Seat availability, comfort and personal space - ferries with only 1-2% dissatisfied, metro with 2-3% dissatisfied, followed by buses with 3-4% dissatisfied, suburban trains with 4% dissatisfied and light rail with 4-7% dissatisfied.

Comfort at the stop or station (seating and shelter) - metro stations at 3% dissatisfaction, ferry wharves at 3% dissatisfaction. light rail stops at 6% dissatisfaction, suburban train stations at 6% dissatisfaction and bus stops at 8% dissatisfaction.

Although overall satisfaction figures are very high, there are elements of dissatisfaction that point to room for improvement for suburban trains, buses and light rail. Ferries and metro are unquestionably Sydney's best systems and what TfNSW seems to be best at. Suburban trains and buses are beset by long-standing structural problems that will take a long time to overcome, but the high perception of comfort on metro and buses compared to the other two rail modes may surprise some who consider those latter two to be the queens of comfort.

Finally, while suburban trains and buses have, in fairness, many legacy constraints to overcome, the same excuse can't be applied to light rail which should have been perfect from day one. So there's a bit of a to-do list there, including journey time, frequency (on IWLR more than CSELR) and comfort, this last one frankly pretty-much unsolvable with double-ended trams.

https://www.transport.nsw.gov.au/news-a ... tion-index
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boronia
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Re: TfNSW Customer Satisfaction Index May 2021

Post by boronia »

I find it hard to fathom that the "comfort level" on the metro is considered "high" when more people prefer (or are forced to) stand rather than be seated in less comfortable seats (compared to trains)
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tonyp
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Re: TfNSW Customer Satisfaction Index May 2021

Post by tonyp »

boronia wrote: Fri Sep 03, 2021 11:08 pm I find it hard to fathom that the "comfort level" on the metro is considered "high" when more people prefer (or are forced to) stand rather than be seated in less comfortable seats (compared to trains)
The metro trains are far easier to move around and have a feeling of spaciousness that suburban trains don't. As I think you have observed in the past, many people choose to stand in the metro even when there are seats available. I don't find the metro seats any less comfortable than the suburban seats which nowadays are as hard as rock. The old days of those nice bouncy seats in the standard suburban sets are long gone.

Comfort is a factor of journey time. If the journey is quick, you don't get time to become uncomfortable. I remember the first time I travelled in the Citadis trams after CSELR opened and the trip was 45-50 minutes. Starting out, the seat seemed quite comfortable. By the time the end of the journey approached, I felt as though I'd been sitting on the Stone of Scone. I don't think it's a coincidence that the highest ratings for seating, comfort and personal space go to those modes with the quickest journeys per distance - ferries and metro. The slower the journey, the more the comfort rating declines. In descending order: bus, suburban train, tram.
iamthouth
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Re: TfNSW Customer Satisfaction Index May 2021

Post by iamthouth »

You also don't need to climb over someone exiting from a metro, like from a two or three seater on a train.
The difference in seating capacity wouldn't have been much of a factor in May 2021, given lighter Covid loadings as well, so there was no crush capacity on the Metro (nor trains).
tonyp
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Re: TfNSW Customer Satisfaction Index May 2021

Post by tonyp »

iamthouth wrote: Sat Sep 04, 2021 2:43 pm You also don't need to climb over someone exiting from a metro, like from a two or three seater on a train.
The difference in seating capacity wouldn't have been much of a factor in May 2021, given lighter Covid loadings as well, so there was no crush capacity on the Metro (nor trains).
If you go back through the surveys to pre-covid, the general pattern is exactly the same - metro rating second best for comfort etc after ferries but suburban rail and light rail rating with the highest dissatisfaction levels. Having to climb over other passengers in suburban trains would contribute to a poor personal space rating but, on the other hand, I'm surprised that buses don't rate worse on that basis! Perhaps people's expectation of buses is lower?

Having issues with personal space on trams is an indication that frequency/capacity is insufficient. Lack of seating is down to the modern resurgence of double-ended trams, which slaughter seating capacity, unlike their single-ended counterparts. These modern "light rail" trams where this is prevalent have thus become essentially standee vehicles, which means that the journey time becomes a critical issue for passenger comfort.
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