News

Metro to Conduct Customer Travel and Satisfaction Surveys

Dianne Williams
Director of Communications
314-982-1440

Metro Transit customers will have two opportunities to share their transit experiences by participating in special surveys which begin later this week. The surveys will provide valuable feedback about who uses Metro, where customers travel, and how satisfied they are with Metro Transit services. Surveyors will ride onboard alongside bus and rail customers to distribute and collect surveys in May and June. Customers may also mail the postage paid surveys or scan and email them to researchrider@metrostlouis.org.  

”The responses to these surveys will really enhance our ability to develop transit service that meets our customers’ evolving needs,” said Ray Friem, Chief Operating Officer, Transit Services. “It also captures information on the service factors that drive customer satisfaction. We can use that information to increase customer satisfaction and to grow ridership.”

The project will begin this Thursday, May 17, with the Bus and Rail Customer Travel Survey. Onboard surveyors will distribute 6,600 surveys among customers on Metro bus routes and the Red and Blue MetroLink lines to inquire about travel purposes, origins, destinations, transfer activities, fare usage, demographics and household data. Responses will be collected daily through Friday, June 1.

The Bus and Rail Customer Satisfaction Survey will be conducted from Saturday, June 2 through Friday, June 15, during which time another 6,600 surveys will be distributed to customers. This round of onboard surveys will gather information on customers’ motivation to ride, loyalty, technology use, communication preferences and demographics. It is during this phase that satisfaction levels with key service factors will be gathered so they can be analyzed to better improve customers’ Metro experience.

Customers will be able to comment on a wide range of service factors such as how satisfied they are with transit service, whether the buses and trains operate on time, the cleanliness of the vehicles, driver courtesy and the ease of reading printed and online schedules. Other issues such as the ability to travel when and where desired and the value of service for the fare paid will also be included in the survey so responses can be analyzed to improve service.

In addition to providing necessary information for data-driven, customer-focused service planning decisions, the surveys provide critical data required for Federal Transit Administration reporting and federal and state grant documentation support. After the data is collected and analyzed, the results will be made available later this year.

For providing responses to the surveys, Metro will enter all participants into a drawing for gift certificates and free transit passes. The drawing will be held in July.

For more information on the 2012 Metro Customer Travel and Satisfaction Surveys, visit www.metrostlouis.org or call 314-231-2345.