2. What I’ll be talking about....
• A bit about Passenger Focus
• Inputs and outputs
• How do we measure the outputs of policy,
investment and development - ask passengers!?
3. Passenger Focus
• Independent consumer watchdog for Britain’s rail
passengers and bus, coach and tram
passengers in England outside of London
• Aim is to make a difference and be useful...not
just a think tank
• Robust, evidenced based research and policy
• Represent passengers’ priorities and
experiences
4. Passenger Focus
• We are a consumer organisation
• Not a pro-public transport campaigner
• Not part of the “anti-car” lobby
• Others do the public transport and “green” lobby
• Pro-passenger!
5. Lots of chat about “inputs” – the rules,
lack of cash, partnerships…
13. Outline of BPS programme (1)
Key methodological points:
• survey of journey experience
• sampling/representativeness at area level
• uses data in Traveline of services per area
• good level of maturity
Coverage:
• around 20 transport authority areas
• mix of repeats and new areas
• account for around two thirds of remit area journeys
• about 20,000 passenger responses
14. Outline of BPS programme (2)
Boost funding:
• almost doubled the size of the survey – grown with each
wave
• both operators and transport authorities
Coverage:
• type of ticket; journey information; bus stop; waiting times
• on the bus; the bus driver; overall satisfaction; value for
money
• classification questions – age, gender, access to private
transport etc
15. Bus Passenger Survey 2012-13 areas
Area Area Area
Devon Nottinghamshire Tyne & Wear PTE
Essex Oxfordshire Warrington
Kent South Yorkshire PTE West of England
Partnership
Merseyside PTE Suffolk West Midlands PTE
Milton Keynes Tees Valley West Yorkshire PTE
Northumberland Transport for Greater
Manchester PTE
Worcestershire
Nottingham City Thurrock
Cambridgeshire BRT Hampshire BRT
17. BPS – overall satisfaction – key groups
• Can look at range of key
groups - disparity between
the higher and the lower
performers more noticeable
for some
• Fare payers range 69% to
90% - average 81%
• Free pass 85% to 98%
(averaging 91%)
60%
65%
70%
75%
80%
85%
90%
95%
100%
Free pass
holders
Fare
payers
Commuting Non
commuting
Has a
disability
Highest score
Intermediate scores
Lowest score
19. BPS – value for money – key groups
• Age 16 – 34: range 29% to 65%
• Age 35 – 59: range 39% to 77%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
55%
60%
65%
70%
75%
80%
Aged 16 to 34 Aged 35 to 59 Commuting Non-commuting
Highest score
Intermediate scores
Lowest score
20. BPS results - helping target resources
and recognise investment
• BPS results being used by transport authorities
for:
- Better Bus Funding submissions
- Local Sustainable Transport Fund
submissions
- Quality bus corridor investment
• Measure impact of investment and follow up
work
• How could BPS results help you and your
partners?
21. Our ambitions for BPS...
• Seek greater contribution from both operators
and authorities...
• To gain greater coverage of bus journeys made
across England, outside of London
• Measurement for local and national investment
in bus services
• Establish BPS as the comparable,
benchmarked, national measure of bus
passenger satisfaction
23. BPS – what affects journey length?
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
Congestion
/traffic jam
Road works Bus driver
driving too
slowly
Poor weather
conditions
Waiting too
long at stops
Time it took
passengers
to board
Highest score
Intermediate scores
Lowest score
• Congestion averaged 24%
(ranging 12% - 34%)
• Time it took passengers to
board 20% (15%-31%)
• Road works 11% (3%-26%)
• Weather 6% (1%-14%)
• Waiting too long at stops
6% (3%-13%)
• Bus going too slowly 6%
(2%-11%)
24. Why and what?
• Why are we interested in the subject?
- link to passengers’ top priority for improvement – punctuality
- it is a major issue for rail passengers – similar for bus?
• Research looking at bus passengers’
- experiences of delays and service disruption
- what would help when it happens
• Qualitative research
- focus groups of passengers in Leeds, Manchester, Exeter,
Brighton, Birmingham and Sudbury (Suffolk)
- interviews with passengers aged 80+
- interviews with passengers with a range of disabilities
- interviews with bus drivers
25. Findings – attitudes to delays
• Most passengers understand that buses will get caught
up in traffic
- to a degree, they accept it as inevitable
- but, they feel more effort is needed to prevent delays/
disruption arising from issues within a bus company’s control
[You’ve] got to allow a bit of
time for the buses – it’s not
exactly like the train
(Sudbury – concessionary pass holder)
I feel very well serviced in this
area, apart from the usual
road works and road traffic
(Birmingham – commuter)
I think its terrible that you can’t rely on the buses. I have to
leave early to get to work on time and just have a coffee if I get
in early. It would be nice to get the later bus which would get
me to work on time but I can’t take the risk and my boss
wouldn’t be happy if I kept blaming the bus
(Brighton)
26. Findings – consequences of delays
• Late for work
• Late picking up children
• Late for medical appointments
• Anxiety
• Stress
• Additional expense
I ended up picking up my
daughter late from school the
other day because the bus was
really late because of road
works. That was really stressful
just thinking about my daughter
being left there
(Leeds – commuter)
There’s always anxiety of the
last bus is late… you get the bus
or it’s a £30 taxi
(Sudbury – concessionary pass holder)
I have to get two buses to work and that can
make things difficult
(Leeds – commuter)
You’ve got to be in Bury at the job centre by a certain
time, otherwise they stop your money!
(Sudbury – younger leisure)
I was cross about that, because I
missed my [doctors] appointment
and they wouldn’t let me in; I had to
go back another day
(concessionary pass holder, 84, Leeds)
27. Findings – what would help?
Better information
• Strong sense that bus passengers feel powerless when
faced with delays.
• Many feel there is no way of finding out what is going on
• Adds to stress and anxiety
It's mental torture sometimes at
bus stops working out whether to
stay or whether to go
(Leeds – commuter)
28. Findings – what would help?
Better information
With buses there are no
mechanisms to find out
what’s going on – whether
it’s cancelled or really
delayed. You do find
yourself just stood there
waiting
(Leeds – commuter)
You just get your
information from whoever’s
stood there at the bus stop
(Manchester – commuter)
You don’t know what to do you see, if you’re
standing there and it hasn’t come… you’re
thinking ‘Oh my goodness, have I missed it, have
I missed it?’… you don’t know what to do ‘cause
you’ve got to wait for another 112 to come
along… you just have to wait and hopefully
somebody says, ‘Oh yes, it’s running late’
(Birmingham – commuter)
National Rail has
live departures
which is really
useful – why can’t
the buses do the
same?
(Leeds – commuter)
29. Findings – what would help?
Real-time departure displays at bus stops
• Passengers strongly favour real-time departure displays at
bus stops
- inclusive
- reassuring
- allows informed choice
I think it’s the best idea there is, really
(concessionary pass holder, 84, Leeds)
It gives you the impression that
somebody out there knows
what’s going on
(Birmingham – commuter)
30. Findings – what would help?
Smartphone apps
• Real-time information via Smartphone
apps has strong appeal for some
But .....
• Almost no awareness of existing apps for bus travel outside
London
• Few associated apps with bus travel – a feeling that bus
companies (except in London) don’t do that sort of thing
• Assumption that an app would give static information – not
disruption information in real time
note: lack of awareness and cultural assumptions
about bus companies to overcome
31. Other findings
Phone numbers for information
• Usual assumption is that you would phone up retrospectively to
make a complaint, not for live information
• Most (but not all) are aware of a phone number being provided, or
assume that there would be one if they looked
• Only a minority have used – lukewarm reaction to this as an
information source
• Experience of helpfulness is mixed
• Concern about being put on hold
Texting for information
• Many aware of the service and have used it
• Generally found to be quite reliable
• …but a couple across the sample have received inaccurate
information, or text has come through late. This puts them off using
it ever again – a complete loss of confidence
• Generally a positive reaction to the concept
• But a strong aversion to having to pay for this service
• Both methods of information require a mobile
phone, so can exclude some
• Onus is on the passenger to find out
32. Other findings
Websites
• Most assume that bus companies and local councils will
have information about disruption online, but virtually none of
those we spoke to would ever look for themselves
• Websites will be used by bus passengers to research new
routes, for example if just moved to the area/changed job, or
to look for timetables – but not for disruption planning
• In contrast, passengers talked about using websites
extensively to find disruption information when travelling by
train or car.
- rail and car journeys of greater consequence
- not part of the mindset when travelling by bus – need a prompt to look
• Some experience of information not being updated – outside
office hours, for example
33. Other findings
Social media
• Mixed reactions, ranging from those enthusiastically in favour …. to
those who found the idea completely ridiculous
• Twitter preferred to Facebook: the difference between “receiving
information” (Twitter) and “interacting with friends and family”
(Facebook)
• Don’t assume the audience will be ‘younger’ passengers
- many school/university students in this research do not have
smartphones to facilitate social media on the move
- and for these groups in particular, social media is often about
entertainment only, with little room for information
• Crucial to be able to filter for relevant routes
• Concern about resourcing – can they cope? who will pay for staff?
I’m not saying this isn’t a good idea because I think it is, but
this is going to peak at 8am, and is ‘Bernard’ going to be
able to answer everybody’s message that comes in – am I
going to be at work before somebody gives me a response?
(Manchester – commuter)
34. Findings – what would help?
Greater customer-focus from drivers
• Significant gap between passengers’ experiences and their
desire that bus drivers behave as the customer service
representative during disruption
• Passengers want drivers to be providing information,
demonstrating empathy and expressing regret during
delays and disruption
• But they also recognise that, at times, there is genuine
conflict between ‘operations’ and ‘customer service’ in a
driver’s role
35. Findings – what would help?
Greater customer-focus and information from drivers
For most people the only interaction
they have with the bus company is
through the drivers so they should
make a lot more effort than they do
(Brighton – leisure)
[The driver was] utterly, utterly
indifferent, and it was chaos and
people were panicking and they were
frightened that they weren’t going to
get home… he couldn’t have been
less helpful if he’d have hit me over
the head with a fence post
(Sudbury – concessionary pass holder)
I work in customer services
and would never get away
with how the bus drivers
speak or grunt at people.
They are stuck behind the
times with customer service.
(Exeter – leisure)
Bus drivers give you no info,
you can hear them being
given info via the radio but
they don’t feed it back
(Leeds – commuter)
Bus drivers should relay the information [they receive over
radios] – that’s useful, courtesy and customer service
(Leeds – commuter)
36. Findings – what would help?
Good practice ....
The bus broke down and the driver
got on his radio…he just radioed
the depot and they sent cabs…
picking us all up, taking us all
home, right to the door…I couldn’t
praise that enough
(Sudbury – concessionary pass holder)
37. Findings – bus drivers’ view
• Drivers tend to recognise disruption in the same way that
passengers do (e.g. congestion, road works/blocks,
diversions, weather, accidents, mechanical problems)
• Recognise that they are passengers’ only point of contact
• But drivers tend to perceive passengers have more
knowledge than they do – an assumption that things have
been seen, read, understood and assimilated
They can see that something’s
happened there, it’s not just a queue
of traffic, they’ve probably seen that
there’s been an accident
You can see the posters up at the
stop so they know the bus will divert
[For example] there’s been an accident….you can get in touch with [your
base] and say am I ok if I go up here, and they’ll… say yes ok… and
away you go – you’re putting an effort in, which you know [the
passengers] can see you doing so they appreciate that
38. What next….?
• Developing recommendations from our research
• Shared research results
• Discussing now with bus industry
40. Summary…
• Importance of measuring and sharing the
success of your work and outputs
• Comparable, benchmarked passenger
satisfaction research
• Discreet passenger research where needed
• Developing and sharing best practice
• Keep talking to passengers
• Keep talking to Passenger Focus!
