Agenda Item 10-C
Information Item
To:
Chairman Milde and the VRE Operations Board
From:
Doug Allen
Date:
September 19, 2014
Re:
2014 Customer Service Survey
Background
VRE conducted its annual customer service survey on board all northbound VRE
and Amtrak cross-honor trains on the morning of May 7, 2014. The survey gives
riders an opportunity to evaluate VRE operations and system performance. The
survey was completed by 5,997 riders, which is approximately 60% of the riders
that morning.
Survey Results
The scoring trend on the survey continues to be positive, especially with respect to
the performance of the train crews. The overall train crew rating was 92%, up from
90% the previous two years. Two areas that were specifically targeted in the action
plan from last year’s survey were Checking Tickets Regularly, and Making Timely
Delay Announcements.
•
Checking Tickets Regularly – The scores for this category had plateaued at
about 78% for several years. We worked with Keolis to move towards a
100% inspection, as long as there was no impact on the safe operation of the
train, and the effort was clearly recognized by the passengers. Last year’s
rating had edged up to 81% and this year we hit 86%.
•
Make Timely Delay Announcements – The scores had been in high 60’s
and mid 70’s indicating that passengers felt that they were not being updated
adequately while onboard during a delay. Once again, we worked with Keolis
to implement a procedure to ensure that conductors were making
announcements at a minimum of once every 10 minutes during a delay. This
year the scores improved to 81%. While there is still room for improvement,
we have shown that we can use targeted efforts to improve the passenger’s
experience and perceptions.
On the Customer Service section, one area that typically receives low ratings is VRE
Follow-up to Delays or Problems. With scores over the past few years ranging
from a low of 50% up to a high of 65%, we added this category to our action plan.
By making the effort to send explanatory Train Talk emails out immediately
following a service disruption, we have been able to reduce the number of GoTrains
emails we receive about specific events, and we have been able to share with the
passengers some of the rationale on decisions we make with respect to the
operation. This effort, which is ongoing, resulted in a score this year of 68%. Once
again, there is still plenty of room for improvement, but the efforts seem to be
having an impact.
Our action plan for the past year also included improving the quality and quantity of
communications on the platform. This year, in the categories of Public Address
System on the Platform and Timeliness of Platform Information we scored 62%
and 61% respectively. While seemingly unimpressive, those numbers were in the
40-45% range just a few years ago. One important takeaway from this year’s
results, especially with respect to communicating with passengers is, when we think
we have communicated enough, we need to go even further.
The survey results summary is included here and full results are available at
www.vre.org as downloadable Microsoft Word or PDF files.
Moving Forward
While these results are still being evaluated, we have already begun work on an
action plan for the coming year.
We saw scores decline in the categories dealing with our current Fare Collection
System. That was most likely in response to reliability issues that resulted from our
attempt to change to a domestic supplier of ticket stock. The new stock did not
perform as we expected and created additional maintenance issues. This has been
resolved with a return to our German supplier. In the bigger picture, though, the
upcoming Mobile Ticketing project should improve the passenger’s perception of
the ease and convenience of purchasing and validating VRE tickets.
We are also exploring projects dealing with automatic passenger counters onboard
the trains, and automatic traffic counters at the station parking lots. Besides
providing accurate and timely information that can be better utilized for planning
and operations, this information, coupled with other improvements in technology,
could provide real-time information to passengers. For example, passengers could
receive real time alerts as to parking availability which may allow them to choose a
different station that day.
The VRE website, according to the survey, is where 80% of our passengers go for
detailed information about our service. The Quality of Website has been rated
consistently at or about 75%. We recognize that the current website is not as
passenger-centric as it needs to be and we will be initiating a project to redesign and
re-launch the website. Particular focus will be placed on the user experience and
improving the ability to find important service information. We will also work to
integrate the site with our efforts on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.
We hope to launch the new website in advance of next year’s survey. The annual
Customer Service Survey is a very long, detailed document. The fact that we are
able to get a completion rate of about 60% of the passengers is a clear indicator that
our passengers are actively engaged and interested in the service and our
performance. We take all of the input as a constructive measure on how we are
performing and will continue to develop plans of action to address the concerns and
ideas provided.
Attachment A
Customer Service:
2011
2012
2013
2014
1
Responsiveness of VRE Staff
85%
88%
89%
90%
2
Friendliness of VRE Staff
83%
89%
88%
89%
3
VRE Follow-Up to Delays or Problems
50%
61%
65%
68%
4
Lost and Found
68%
70%
69%
68%
5
Usefulness of Rail time
72%
77%
80%
79%
6
Timeliness of E-mail Responses
51%
58%
62%
64%
7
Quality of E-mail Responses
56%
65%
67%
68%
8
Quality of Website
74%
75%
75%
74%
9
Timeliness of Website Information
67%
69%
70%
70%
10
Timeliness of Train Talk
65%
65%
68%
71%
11
Quality of Train Talk
69%
67%
70%
72%
12
Overall Communication with Passengers
67%
72%
77%
76%
Train Crew Members:
1
Are Knowledgeable About VRE Operations
83%
90%
92%
93%
2
Are Helpful
84%
90%
90%
92%
3
Are Courteous
83%
89%
89%
91%
4
Make Regular Station Announcements
75%
82%
84%
85%
5
Make Timely Delay Announcements
68%
76%
78%
81%
6
Check Tickets Regularly
78%
78%
81%
86%
7
Present A Professional Appearance
91%
93%
93%
94%
8
Overall Crew Performance
85%
90%
90%
92%
VRE Operations:
1
Convenience of Schedules
59%
59%
62%
60%
2
On-time Performance
62%
85%
89%
84%
3
Cleanliness of Trains
89%
91%
93%
93%
4
Cleanliness of Stations
83%
84%
88%
87%
5
Communication between VRE Staff & Riders
71%
77%
81%
82%
6
Automated Telephone System
59%
67%
72%
73%
7
Reliability of FC2 Ticket Vending Machines
51%
58%
58%
56%
8
Ease of Buying a FC2 Ticket
70%
75%
79%
77%
9
Ease of Using SmartBenefits (Metrocheks)
61%
63%
70%
71%
10
Station Parking Availability
56%
57%
66%
65%
11
Public Address System On Train
52%
58%
64%
64%
12
Public Address System On Platform
45%
51%
58%
62%
13
Timeliness of Platform Information
40%
50%
58%
61%
14
Personal Security at Station & On Train
63%
68%
75%
76%
15
Safety of Train Equipment
79%
84%
87%
88%
16
Station Signage
67%
71%
76%
77%
17
Lighting at Morning Station
79%
82%
85%
86%
18
Lighting at Evening Station
79%
82%
85%
86%
19
Traffic Circulation
49%
53%
58%
57%
20
Level of Fare for Quality and Value of Service
63%
61%
67%
64%
78%
84%
88%
88%
21 Overall Service Quality
*Percentages represent ratings of "excellent" or
“good"