VRE conducted its annual customer service survey on board all northbound VRE and
Amtrak cross-honor trains on the morning of May 6, 2015. The survey gives riders an opportunity to evaluate VRE operations and system performance. We received 5,831 completed surveys, which is approximately 61% of the riders that morning.
There are year to year improvements in more than half of the rated categories. Train Crew performance was rated higher in nearly every category this year with an overall performance rating of 94%, up from last year’s record high of 92%.
Only nine of the categories were rated lower than last year and most of those had only a one point drop. We also recognize there are areas where with opportunities to improve.
These include: Quality of Website (New website to launch this fall), and Timeliness and
Quality of Train Talks.
Riders were asked what was most important to them. The top two responses remained:
1.
On Time Performance (OTP) – 20.6% of respondents
2.
Cost – 20.4%

These were followed by:
3.
Frequency of Service – 14.2%
4.
Lack of Seats - 10.6%
5.
Wifi – 10.4%
79.6% of respondents told us that our service was the same as or has improved over the past year, while only 2.4% said service level has declined. The other 18% had no comment.
The overall rating for our service has remained flat for three years at 88%.
We are very pleased with the positive scores we receive from our passengers and maintain our commitment to continuous improvement. Service enhancements such as the new website, VRE Mobile, the Spotsylvania Station, and the new Fredericksburg Line train are examples of our commitment to constant improvement of the service and passenger experience. Future planned improvements include projects like Automatic Passenger
Counters, Parking Counters, and improved platform informational displays.
The survey results are illustrated in the attached summary and full results are available at www.vre.org as downloadable Microsoft Word or PDF files.
2

2015 VRE Customer Service Survey Results
Customer Service:
1 Responsiveness of VRE Staff
2 Friendliness of VRE Staff
2011 2012 2013 2014
85% 88% 89% 90%
83% 89% 88% 89%
3 VRE Follow-Up to Delays or Problems
4 Lost and Found
5 Usefulness of Rail time
6 Timeliness of E-mail Responses
7 Quality of E-mail Responses
8 Timeliness of Social Media Responses
9 Quality of Social Media Responses
10 Quality of Information in RIDE Magazine
11 Quality of Website
12 Timeliness of Website Information
13 Timeliness of Train Talk
14 Quality of Train Talk
15 Overall Communication with Passengers
Train Crew Members:
1 Are Knowledgeable About VRE Operations
2 Are Helpful
3 Are Courteous
4 Make Regular Station Announcements
5 Make Timely Delay Announcements
50%
68%
61%
70%
65%
69%
68%
68%
72% 77% 80% 79%
51% 58% 62% 64%
56% 65% 67% 68%
74% 75% 75% 74%
67% 69% 70% 70%
65% 65% 68% 71%
69% 67% 70% 72%
67% 72% 77% 76%
2011 2012 2013 2014
83% 90% 92% 93%
84% 90% 90% 92%
83% 89% 89% 91%
75% 82% 84% 85%
68% 76% 78% 81%
6 Check Tickets Regularly
7 Present A Professional Appearance
8 Overall Crew Performance
VRE Operations:
1 Convenience of Schedules
2 On-time Performance
3 Cleanliness of Trains
4 Cleanliness of Stations
5 Communication between VRE Staff & Riders
6 Automated Telephone System
7 Reliability of Ticket Vending Machines
8 Ease of Buying a Ticket
9 Ease of Using SmartBenefits
78%
91%
85%
78%
93%
90%
81%
93%
90%
86%
94%
92%
2011 2012 2013 2014
59% 59% 62% 60%
62% 85% 89% 84%
89% 91% 93% 93%
83% 84% 88% 87%
71% 77% 81% 82%
59% 67% 72% 73%
51% 58% 58% 56%
70% 75% 79% 77%
61% 63% 70% 71%
10 Station Parking Availability
11 Public Address System On Train
12 Public Address System On Platform
13 Timeliness of Platform Information
14 Personal Security at Station & On Train
15 Safety of Train Equipment
16 Station Signage
17 Lighting at Morning Station
18 Lighting at Evening Station
19 Traffic Circulation
56%
52%
45%
40%
63%
79%
67%
57%
58%
51%
50%
68%
84%
71%
66%
64%
58%
58%
75%
87%
76%
65%
64%
62%
61%
76%
88%
77%
79% 82% 85% 86%
79% 82% 85% 86%
49% 53% 58% 57%
20 Level of Fare for Quality and Value of Service 63% 61% 67% 64%
21 Overall Service Quality 78% 84% 88% 88%
*Percentages represent ratings of "excellent" or "good"
2015
90%
90%
94%
88%
83%
74%
64%
80%
75%
86%
95%
94%
2015
61%
84%
68%
65%
62%
60%
78%
90%
78%
87%
86%
58%
65%
88%
69%
66%
69%
75%
2015
93%
93%
92%
86%
82%
69%
68%
78%
63%
67%
65%
69%
65%
72%