Assessment Of PART-Express Riders
Customer Satisfaction
Survey Report
Assessment of PART Express Riders
August 10, 2011
Prepared by:
Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation
Page |2
Table of Contents
Introduction ........................................................................................................... 3
Objectives............................................................................................................... 3
Methodology .......................................................................................................... 3
Respondent Profile................................................................................................. 3
Findings .................................................................................................................. …show more content…
4
Recommendations ................................................................................................. 5
List of Figures ......................................................................................................... 6
Figure 1: Demographics ............................................................................................................................ 6
Figure 2: Largest Triad employers ............................................................................................................. 7
Figure 3: Ridership Satisfaction................................................................................................................. 7
Figure 4: Length Of Service Usage ............................................................................................................ 8
Figure 5: Ridership Frequency .................................................................................................................. 8
Figure 6: Route Usage Comparison ........................................................................................................... 9
Figure 7: Attribute Ratings ........................................................................................................................ 9
Figure 8: Marketing Channels ................................................................................................................. 10
Figure 9: Fuel Cost/Consumption ........................................................................................................... 10
Figure 10: Price Analysis.......................................................................................................................... 11
Figure 11: Communication Channels ......................................................................................................
11
Appendix A: Survey .............................................................................................. 12
Appendix B: Comparison of 2009, 2010, & 2011 Surveys……………..……………….…13
Customer Satisfaction Survey Report 2011
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Introduction
The need to measure customer satisfaction is essential for any organization.
PART understands the importance of building and effectively managing the relationship with riders. To do so it needs to understand and meet rider expectations. It is imperative to identify the parameters which cause customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction and continuously measure them to bring about the changes needed on the basis of customer perceptions.
Objectives
The Primary objective of the Customer Satisfaction Survey is to determine satisfaction levels of PART Express riders. Secondary objectives are to determine ridership demographics, price sensitivity, what marketing channel is best to target respondents, the level of satisfaction on specific PART attributes, and determine ways
PART can improve services. Determining ridership demographics will aid PART …show more content…
in understanding its current customers, as well as identifying target markets.
Understanding which marketing channel works best to gain riders will give PART an indication of where to focus strategic marketing efforts. Attribute levels will break down each element of the PART experience and allow respondents to rate each task, giving detailed information beneficial for improving customer satisfaction.
Methodology
PART targeted existing Express riders for the customer satisfaction survey.
Surveys were distributed to all Express routes, PART’s email list, Facebook, Twitter, as well as posted on the homepage of the PART website; designated to capture a demographic mix of respondents. 530 completed surveys were received and analyzed.
Respondents are estimated to be roughly 50% of ridership and constitute an adequate survey sample size. The survey consisted of 19 questions, formatted as open ended, 5 point Likert Scale, basic demographics, and numerical questions (Appendix A).
Customer Satisfaction Survey Report 2011
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Respondent Profile
Based on the demographic information received on the survey, it has been concluded that 60.5% of respondents were female and 39.4% male (Figure 1). The prevalent age range, at 26.9% was 55-64 years old (Figure 1). 72.2% of the respondents answered full time for their employment status, 21.5% and chose $30,000$44,999 as their annual income (Figure 3). When asked “which best describes your race?” respondents answered 61.6% White, 31.3% Black, and 7.1% Other (Figure 2).
Based on the open-ended question of “Where do you work”, 418 determined the top 5 largest employers. Baptist Hospital was the largest with 93 responses, Wells Fargo,
UNCG, and GTCC were second with 14 responses each, Forsyth Medical Center and
BB&T were third with 10 responses, Forsyth Tech Community College was fourth with 8 responses, Moses Cone and Tyco both came in fifth with 7 responses (Figure 2).
Findings
When respondents were asked to “Rate your level of satisfaction with PART”,
92.4% responded Somewhat to Highly Satisfied. 4.5% were Neutral, 2.2% responded
Dissatisfied and less than < 1% were Very Dissatisfied (Figure 3).
When asked “How long have you used PART services?” 22.8% answered less than 6 months, 13.5% answered 6 months to 1 year, 32% answered 1 to 3 years, 23.3% answered 3 to 5 years, and 8.1% answered 5 years or more (Figure 4). 56.7% of the respondents stated that they rode PART every day (Figure 5). The Routes which showed highest were Surry Express with 32.8% ridership, Greensboro Express with
30% ridership and Winston-Salem Express with 28.3% ridership (Figure 6).
To determine price sensitivity a few new questions about fares were added to the survey this year. When asked “If you drove to work each day, how much would it cost?”
29.6% of respondents answered $15.00-$30.00. This was calculated by multiplying the daily round trip miles by 51 cents. The average PART rider saves $5,850 per year by riding. (Avg. Cost $22.50 times 260 work days per year) Of the 530 respondents 77.7% responded that $2.40 One-Way/$74.50 31-Day Pass was a fair price to ride PART
Express (Figure 9). Nearly half of the respondents felt that they received a good value for the cost of the service (Figure 10).
An attribute table was used to measure the satisfaction level of PART Express riders from the following categories: customer service, professionalism, quality of transportation, understanding customers’ needs, bus operator performance, PART Hub staff performance, price, and convenience of transportation. These attributes seem to be going down in satisfaction rating since last year. (Figure 7).
Customer Satisfaction Survey Report 2011
Page |5
To help identify the best channel for reaching new PART Express riders, respondents were asked “Which PART marketing tools have you seen/heard?” TV
Commercials surpassed all other channels with 63.7%, the Email Messages was second highest with 42.8%, and 35.6% of respondents heard about PART through
Billboards (Figure 8). When asked “What is the best way to communicate with you?” respondents requested that Email Messages and Flyers inside the buses was the best way to reach them (Figure10).
Recommendations
PART will review survey responses and categorize results to distribute to appropriate departments for further examination. After reviewing survey responses, areas of improvement will be identified.
With demographic information attained about PART Express riders, it is recommended that the results be used by the Marketing department to promote PART services to retain current riders, and to acquire potential riders. A demographic profile of the PART typical rider has been determined and should be used as a reference for marketing purposes, to determine the characteristics and interests of the majority of current PART Express Riders.
Many route, schedule and service recommendations were suggested and will be reviewed. From these suggestions PART should determine if changes suggested, are necessary and need to be made to existing routes. Potential areas that are not currently served need to be examined to see if there is potential ridership available.
The Customer Satisfaction Survey will be conducted once per year during the fourth quarter of the PART fiscal year. Results to this survey will be publicized on the
PART website and in a press release to the
media.
Customer Satisfaction Survey Report 2011
Page |6
List of Figures
Figure 1: What is your Gender
Customer Satisfaction Survey Report 2011
Page |7
Figure 2: Top 5 Largest employers
1. Wake Forest University Baptist
Medical Center
93
2. Wells Fargo / UNCG / GTCC
14
3. Forsyth Medical Center / BB&T
10
4. Forsyth Tech Community College
8
5. Moses Cone Hospital /
7
Tyco Electronics
Figure 3: How would you rate your level of satisfaction with PART
4.5%
2.2%
< 1%
Highly satisfied
27.5%
Somewhat satisfied 64.9%
Neutral
Somewhat
dissatisfied
Highly
dissatisfied
Customer Satisfaction Survey Report 2011
Page |8
Figure 4: How long have you used PART services
8.1%
22.8%
Less than 6 months
23.3%
6 months to less than 1 year
1 year to 3 years
3 years to 5 years
32.0%
13.5%
5 years or more
Figure 5: How frequently do you ride PART
56.7%
Every day
17.1%
Four days per week
10.3%
Three days per week
Two days per week
3.7%
One day per week
1.8%
Twice a month
2.2%
Once a month
1.8%
Other
0.0%
5.8%
10.0%
Customer Satisfaction Survey Report 2011
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
Page |9
Figure 6: Which PART Routes do you use
35.0%
30.0%
28.3%
32.8%
30.0%
25.0%
20.0%
15.0%
14.5%
11.5%
7.9%
10.0%
2.2%
5.0%
6.2%
5.2%
3.2%
3.7%
6.4%
0.0%
Figure 7: How does PART rate on the following attributes
Convenience of Transportation
47%
31%
22%
29%
32%
Price
PART Hub Staff Performance
32%
33%
7%
Bus Operator Performance
37%
15%
Understanding customers' needs
28%
Quality of Transportation
38%
17%
Customer service
22%
0%
10%
Customer Satisfaction Survey Report 2011
20%
30%
48%
Other
48%
45%
40%
37%
40%
Well Above Average
Above Average
34%
38%
40%
12%
Professionalism
39%
50%
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Figure 8: How did you hear about PART services
6.5%
7.7%
1.1%
Billboard
T.V.
5.4%
Radio
Newspaper
Website
12%
Event
64.1%
Word of Mouth
2.8%
Figure 9: If you drove to work each day how much would it cost? (Daily round trip miles x .51)
13.50%
24.30%
Less than $15.00
12.60%
$15.00 - $30.00
$30.00 - $50.00
More than $50.00
Not applicable
19.80%
29.60%
Customer Satisfaction Survey Report 2011
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Figure 10: What do you feel is a fair price to ride PART express? (One way/ 31 day pass) 1% 2%
12%
$2.40/$74.50
7%
$2.75/$80.00
$3.00/$90.00
$3.50/$100.00
$4.00/$125.00
77%
Figure 11: What is the best way for PART to communicate with you?
5.80%
9.10%
Flyers posted inside Buses
30.30%
Flyers at PART Hub/Transportation
Centers
Email Messages (What's
Happening at PART/Rider Alerts)
PART Website
48.60%
Social Media (Facebook/Twitter)
5.40%
Customer Satisfaction Survey Report 2011
P a g e | 12
Appendix A: 2010 Customer Satisfaction Survey
Customer Satisfaction Survey Report 2011
P a g e | 13
Appendix B: Comparison of 2009, 2010, & 2011 Customer Satisfaction Surveys
Customer Satisfaction Survey Report 2011
Survey Report
Assessment of PART Express Riders
August 10, 2011
Prepared by:
Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation
Page |2
Table of Contents
Introduction ........................................................................................................... 3
Objectives............................................................................................................... 3
Methodology .......................................................................................................... 3
Respondent Profile................................................................................................. 3
Findings .................................................................................................................. …show more content…
4
Recommendations ................................................................................................. 5
List of Figures ......................................................................................................... 6
Figure 1: Demographics ............................................................................................................................ 6
Figure 2: Largest Triad employers ............................................................................................................. 7
Figure 3: Ridership Satisfaction................................................................................................................. 7
Figure 4: Length Of Service Usage ............................................................................................................ 8
Figure 5: Ridership Frequency .................................................................................................................. 8
Figure 6: Route Usage Comparison ........................................................................................................... 9
Figure 7: Attribute Ratings ........................................................................................................................ 9
Figure 8: Marketing Channels ................................................................................................................. 10
Figure 9: Fuel Cost/Consumption ........................................................................................................... 10
Figure 10: Price Analysis.......................................................................................................................... 11
Figure 11: Communication Channels ......................................................................................................
11
Appendix A: Survey .............................................................................................. 12
Appendix B: Comparison of 2009, 2010, & 2011 Surveys……………..……………….…13
Customer Satisfaction Survey Report 2011
Page |3
Introduction
The need to measure customer satisfaction is essential for any organization.
PART understands the importance of building and effectively managing the relationship with riders. To do so it needs to understand and meet rider expectations. It is imperative to identify the parameters which cause customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction and continuously measure them to bring about the changes needed on the basis of customer perceptions.
Objectives
The Primary objective of the Customer Satisfaction Survey is to determine satisfaction levels of PART Express riders. Secondary objectives are to determine ridership demographics, price sensitivity, what marketing channel is best to target respondents, the level of satisfaction on specific PART attributes, and determine ways
PART can improve services. Determining ridership demographics will aid PART …show more content…
in understanding its current customers, as well as identifying target markets.
Understanding which marketing channel works best to gain riders will give PART an indication of where to focus strategic marketing efforts. Attribute levels will break down each element of the PART experience and allow respondents to rate each task, giving detailed information beneficial for improving customer satisfaction.
Methodology
PART targeted existing Express riders for the customer satisfaction survey.
Surveys were distributed to all Express routes, PART’s email list, Facebook, Twitter, as well as posted on the homepage of the PART website; designated to capture a demographic mix of respondents. 530 completed surveys were received and analyzed.
Respondents are estimated to be roughly 50% of ridership and constitute an adequate survey sample size. The survey consisted of 19 questions, formatted as open ended, 5 point Likert Scale, basic demographics, and numerical questions (Appendix A).
Customer Satisfaction Survey Report 2011
Page |4
Respondent Profile
Based on the demographic information received on the survey, it has been concluded that 60.5% of respondents were female and 39.4% male (Figure 1). The prevalent age range, at 26.9% was 55-64 years old (Figure 1). 72.2% of the respondents answered full time for their employment status, 21.5% and chose $30,000$44,999 as their annual income (Figure 3). When asked “which best describes your race?” respondents answered 61.6% White, 31.3% Black, and 7.1% Other (Figure 2).
Based on the open-ended question of “Where do you work”, 418 determined the top 5 largest employers. Baptist Hospital was the largest with 93 responses, Wells Fargo,
UNCG, and GTCC were second with 14 responses each, Forsyth Medical Center and
BB&T were third with 10 responses, Forsyth Tech Community College was fourth with 8 responses, Moses Cone and Tyco both came in fifth with 7 responses (Figure 2).
Findings
When respondents were asked to “Rate your level of satisfaction with PART”,
92.4% responded Somewhat to Highly Satisfied. 4.5% were Neutral, 2.2% responded
Dissatisfied and less than < 1% were Very Dissatisfied (Figure 3).
When asked “How long have you used PART services?” 22.8% answered less than 6 months, 13.5% answered 6 months to 1 year, 32% answered 1 to 3 years, 23.3% answered 3 to 5 years, and 8.1% answered 5 years or more (Figure 4). 56.7% of the respondents stated that they rode PART every day (Figure 5). The Routes which showed highest were Surry Express with 32.8% ridership, Greensboro Express with
30% ridership and Winston-Salem Express with 28.3% ridership (Figure 6).
To determine price sensitivity a few new questions about fares were added to the survey this year. When asked “If you drove to work each day, how much would it cost?”
29.6% of respondents answered $15.00-$30.00. This was calculated by multiplying the daily round trip miles by 51 cents. The average PART rider saves $5,850 per year by riding. (Avg. Cost $22.50 times 260 work days per year) Of the 530 respondents 77.7% responded that $2.40 One-Way/$74.50 31-Day Pass was a fair price to ride PART
Express (Figure 9). Nearly half of the respondents felt that they received a good value for the cost of the service (Figure 10).
An attribute table was used to measure the satisfaction level of PART Express riders from the following categories: customer service, professionalism, quality of transportation, understanding customers’ needs, bus operator performance, PART Hub staff performance, price, and convenience of transportation. These attributes seem to be going down in satisfaction rating since last year. (Figure 7).
Customer Satisfaction Survey Report 2011
Page |5
To help identify the best channel for reaching new PART Express riders, respondents were asked “Which PART marketing tools have you seen/heard?” TV
Commercials surpassed all other channels with 63.7%, the Email Messages was second highest with 42.8%, and 35.6% of respondents heard about PART through
Billboards (Figure 8). When asked “What is the best way to communicate with you?” respondents requested that Email Messages and Flyers inside the buses was the best way to reach them (Figure10).
Recommendations
PART will review survey responses and categorize results to distribute to appropriate departments for further examination. After reviewing survey responses, areas of improvement will be identified.
With demographic information attained about PART Express riders, it is recommended that the results be used by the Marketing department to promote PART services to retain current riders, and to acquire potential riders. A demographic profile of the PART typical rider has been determined and should be used as a reference for marketing purposes, to determine the characteristics and interests of the majority of current PART Express Riders.
Many route, schedule and service recommendations were suggested and will be reviewed. From these suggestions PART should determine if changes suggested, are necessary and need to be made to existing routes. Potential areas that are not currently served need to be examined to see if there is potential ridership available.
The Customer Satisfaction Survey will be conducted once per year during the fourth quarter of the PART fiscal year. Results to this survey will be publicized on the
PART website and in a press release to the
media.
Customer Satisfaction Survey Report 2011
Page |6
List of Figures
Figure 1: What is your Gender
Customer Satisfaction Survey Report 2011
Page |7
Figure 2: Top 5 Largest employers
1. Wake Forest University Baptist
Medical Center
93
2. Wells Fargo / UNCG / GTCC
14
3. Forsyth Medical Center / BB&T
10
4. Forsyth Tech Community College
8
5. Moses Cone Hospital /
7
Tyco Electronics
Figure 3: How would you rate your level of satisfaction with PART
4.5%
2.2%
< 1%
Highly satisfied
27.5%
Somewhat satisfied 64.9%
Neutral
Somewhat
dissatisfied
Highly
dissatisfied
Customer Satisfaction Survey Report 2011
Page |8
Figure 4: How long have you used PART services
8.1%
22.8%
Less than 6 months
23.3%
6 months to less than 1 year
1 year to 3 years
3 years to 5 years
32.0%
13.5%
5 years or more
Figure 5: How frequently do you ride PART
56.7%
Every day
17.1%
Four days per week
10.3%
Three days per week
Two days per week
3.7%
One day per week
1.8%
Twice a month
2.2%
Once a month
1.8%
Other
0.0%
5.8%
10.0%
Customer Satisfaction Survey Report 2011
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
Page |9
Figure 6: Which PART Routes do you use
35.0%
30.0%
28.3%
32.8%
30.0%
25.0%
20.0%
15.0%
14.5%
11.5%
7.9%
10.0%
2.2%
5.0%
6.2%
5.2%
3.2%
3.7%
6.4%
0.0%
Figure 7: How does PART rate on the following attributes
Convenience of Transportation
47%
31%
22%
29%
32%
Price
PART Hub Staff Performance
32%
33%
7%
Bus Operator Performance
37%
15%
Understanding customers' needs
28%
Quality of Transportation
38%
17%
Customer service
22%
0%
10%
Customer Satisfaction Survey Report 2011
20%
30%
48%
Other
48%
45%
40%
37%
40%
Well Above Average
Above Average
34%
38%
40%
12%
Professionalism
39%
50%
P a g e | 10
Figure 8: How did you hear about PART services
6.5%
7.7%
1.1%
Billboard
T.V.
5.4%
Radio
Newspaper
Website
12%
Event
64.1%
Word of Mouth
2.8%
Figure 9: If you drove to work each day how much would it cost? (Daily round trip miles x .51)
13.50%
24.30%
Less than $15.00
12.60%
$15.00 - $30.00
$30.00 - $50.00
More than $50.00
Not applicable
19.80%
29.60%
Customer Satisfaction Survey Report 2011
P a g e | 11
Figure 10: What do you feel is a fair price to ride PART express? (One way/ 31 day pass) 1% 2%
12%
$2.40/$74.50
7%
$2.75/$80.00
$3.00/$90.00
$3.50/$100.00
$4.00/$125.00
77%
Figure 11: What is the best way for PART to communicate with you?
5.80%
9.10%
Flyers posted inside Buses
30.30%
Flyers at PART Hub/Transportation
Centers
Email Messages (What's
Happening at PART/Rider Alerts)
PART Website
48.60%
Social Media (Facebook/Twitter)
5.40%
Customer Satisfaction Survey Report 2011
P a g e | 12
Appendix A: 2010 Customer Satisfaction Survey
Customer Satisfaction Survey Report 2011
P a g e | 13
Appendix B: Comparison of 2009, 2010, & 2011 Customer Satisfaction Surveys
Customer Satisfaction Survey Report 2011