Poll Reveals Metro Riders Approve of Ongoing Attention to Basic Services, Also Like New Metro Orange Line

Two surveys, one scanning customer satisfaction throughout the Metro system and the other focusing on the new Metro Orange Line, have found that high quality of basic services is what riders want and appreciate.

In one of the largest customer satisfaction surveys of its kind -- this one polling nearly 18,000 riders -- Metro trains and buses received high marks for innovation, as well as for quality of essential services.

For the poll, administered in the fall aboard Metro buses and trains, riders were asked to relay their experiences in a self-administered written survey.

“We asked customers to rank us on such things as safety, comfort and added amenities and we were pleased that some of the efforts we are making in basic services -- like adding more buses to lines when we see those lines growing in popularity -- are being noticed and appreciated,” said Metro’s Jeff Boberg, who designed the survey.

Where basic services including seating and safety are concerned, the survey found it’s getting easier to get a seat. A vast majority of customers -- 80 percent – now find a seat, versus 69 percent just three years ago. Where safety is concerned, customers said they feel safe at bus stops (80 percent) and when riding the system (87 percent). And 79 percent said drivers are courteous.

“Not only are riders feeling confident about essential services, such as driver courtesy and safety on and off buses and trains, they’re supportive of our efforts to integrate new technology into the system,” Boberg said.

A prime example is customer reaction to the new Entertainment Television System on board Metro buses. Eighty-six percent of riders approve of the TV monitors that broadcast current news and sports headlines, stock quotes, word games, trivia questions and snippets of vintage television shows. The monitors were installed last year in buses throughout the system.

Also popular were changes made to timetables. Seventy-six percent of riders approve of the redesign to make the timetables easier to read and understand.

Metro’s efforts to clean up graffiti as soon as it appears have been noticed. In the last survey, 52 percent of riders thought graffiti was a problem. Now nearly 54 percent think it is not.

While more people are consulting the Metro Web site, www.metro.net, which contains information on how to plan bus or rail trips, join a carpool, find a Park & Ride lot near a Metro station and purchase monthly Metro passes, the number is still low – just 37 percent. “So we should probably work on getting the word out about the Web site’s ease and usefulness,” Boberg said.

Overall, more than 4 out of 5 customers think the Metro image is improving (85 percent) and see a continued trend toward better service (83 percent). Most of the riders polled (86 percent) use Metro bus and rail primarily for commuting, a small increase from the last survey (84 percent).

In the other recent customer service survey, this one focusing on Metro’s Orange Line, riders registered overwhelming approved of the service. More than 90 percent of respondents indicated that they normally have a seat for their trip and that they like the Metro Liner buses and the pre-paid boarding system.

The North Hollywood Metro Red Line station is the primary destination for Metro Orange Line riders, indicating that the Metro Orange Line is acting as a perfect complement to the Metro Red Line. Fifty-seven percent of riders who said they drove alone or carpooled prior to the opening of the Metro Orange Line also used the 101 Freeway to complete their trip, suggesting that Metro Orange Line service may be helping to offset 101 Freeway traffic.

Thirty-six percent of Metro Orange Line respondents said they had a car available to complete their trip (compared with 28 percent system wide). Also noteworthy, the survey found that 31 percent of Orange Line riders are new riders and riders who have used Metro for less than a year.

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