Transperth approval rating at record high - Southern River-Armadale

4/8/03
The level of passenger satisfaction with Transperth's bus, train and ferry services reached record levels in 2002-03.
Planning and Infrastructure Minister Alannah MacTiernan said today that independent research showed overall satisfaction with Transperth's bus services was 84 per cent, the highest ever recorded.
At the same time, 96 per cent of Southern River-Armadale passengers said they were happy with the last bus trip they had taken at their usual travelling time, up from 92 per cent a year earlier.
Ms MacTiernan also said the overall satisfaction rating for Transperth's trains and ferries had equalled previous highs.
"Ninety-two per cent of our train passengers and 97 per cent of ferry passengers were either satisfied or very satisfied," the Minister said.
"This consolidates the excellent results we achieved a year earlier, when our major services - buses and trains, on which passenger boardings are running at more than 87 million a year - both achieved record increases in the level of overall passenger satisfaction.
"The Gallop Government is delivering on its commitment to provide safe, accessible and efficient public transport."
Last year's satisfaction ratings were 96 per cent for ferries, 91 per cent for rail and 82 per cent for buses.
The figures came out of Transperth's latest annual Passenger Satisfaction Monitor (PSM), the most comprehensive survey of its kind in Australia. The PSM, which has been running for seven years, sought responses from more than 3,000 public transport users over a four-week period in February and March this year.
Perth-based NFO Donovan Research interviewed bus, train, ferry and CAT (Central Area Transit) passengers who use the service at least once a fortnight, seeking responses on a wide range of travel issues, including fares, punctuality and perceived safety.
Services in the Southern River-Armadale area scored very highly in the subject-specific survey of satisfaction levels for the last bus trip at the usual time.
"Southern River-Armadale achieved satisfaction levels of 93 per cent or higher in nine of the 16 questions about various aspects of the service," Ms MacTiernan said.
"These included 98 per cent for personal safety on board during the day, 96 per cent for the availability of seats and 93 per cent for cleanliness on board the bus - all of which were higher than a year earlier."
Ms MacTiernan said several other important findings came out of the survey.
"Overall, bus travellers said they considered punctuality to be the most important characteristic of the service - and we achieved an 84 per cent satisfaction rating in this area," she said.
"For train users, safety on board was the most important consideration.
"Not only did we record on-board satisfaction levels of 96 per cent during the day and 73 per cent at night, but 78 per cent of the respondents said they thought security for people travelling on Transperth's rail services had improved over the past 12 months.
"This is very gratifying for us, given the investment we have made in measures like Transit Guards, on-board security cameras and the intercom buttons with which passengers can contact the driver.
"It is also gratifying that our CAT services and the Circle Route - two customer service-driven initiatives - continue to attain very high levels of passenger satisfaction."
Minister's office: 9213 6400