EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Introduction and Methodology
1. Colin Buchanan were commissioned by the Scottish Executive to carry out a series of surveys aimed at assessing passenger satisfaction amongst the users of local bus services. The annual surveys sought to monitor changes in satisfaction which could possibly be useful in decision making and policy development. This document reports results from the November 2005 survey and compares them with the previous surveys undertaken in November 2002, 2003 and 2004.
2. The survey consisted of 1,752 telephone interviews with respondents over 15 years of age who had travelled locally on a bus at least once during the preceding month. The survey used the same questionnaire as that used in the first 3 years of the study with a few minor amendments and additions and the interviews were carried out in accordance with the MRS code of conduct and quality assurance criteria.
3. Respondents were selected from a series of pre-selected postcode sectors throughout Scotland. These were chosen to ensure that there was an even coverage across the regions and urban and rural typologies. For study purposes the data was additionally subdivided by age, gender, frequency of bus use, levels of car ownership and income.
4. Passengers were asked about their levels of satisfaction with various aspects of a recent bus journey. These satisfaction level were recorded such that a rating of 100 would indicate that all respondents were 'very satisfied. Eighty indicates that respondents are 'satisfied' on average and 60 would indicate that respondents were 'neither satisfied nor dissatisfied' on average.
Overall results for 2005
5. A satisfaction rating of 87.0 was found for the overall service. This is a high value and indicates that respondents are slightly more than 'satisfied' on average. This is the highest overall satisfaction level found in any of the four years of the survey and is significantly higher than the value found in 2002. In addition 2005 has the highest number of 'very satisfied' respondents and the lowest number of respondents in the 'neither satisfied nor dissatisfied', 'dissatisfied' and 'very dissatisfied' categories.
6. Particularly high scoring attributes of bus services were the demeanour of drivers (87.3), personal safety on buses (87.2) and the accessibility of bus stops (87.2). Only 5 individual aspects of services scored below 80 with respondents being any less than 'satisfied' on average. These were value for money, the state of the roads, the cleanliness of bus stops, the information at bus stops and shelter provision.
Variations between groups of respondents in 2005
7. Age was a particularly important statistically significant influence on satisfaction with older people overwhelmingly more satisfied than younger people. Particularly large differences were seen in satisfaction with the overall service, value for money, service frequency and reliability, information at bus stops, and ease of paying fare aspects of services. It is likely that much of this difference is due to the provision of free travel for those aged over 60 with the remainder of the difference due to reduced travel during peak periods and the hours of darkness. It is also possible that older people have more realistic expectations of what can be offered by a bus service.
8. Area was also commonly a statistically significant influence on satisfaction. Particularly large variations are seen in the service reliability, waiting time at stop, the state of the roads, cleanliness of the bus stop, information at the bus stop and shelter provision aspects of services. Where area is a statistically significant influence the area where the highest or lowest satisfaction level is found is highly variable. All but one area had the highest rating for one attribute and all but two appeared as the lowest rated areas in at least one category. Overall those in the Highlands & Islands most commonly report the highest satisfaction and those in Grampian are most commonly least satisfied though the overall satisfaction level in Grampian, the Lothians and Strathclyde is very similar.
9. Whether the respondent has complained is the last commonly statistically significant influence with those who have complained invariably less satisfied than those who have not. However, as there seems to be no reason to suspect that these respondents are using services which are any different from those used by the bulk of the respondents it is likely that their lower levels of satisfaction are caused by higher expectations rather than worse services.
10. Typology is a moderately important statistically significant influence with particularly large differences in satisfaction seen with the frequency of services, directness of the route, quality of driving, shelter provision and bus stop lighting aspects. Overall those in large urban areas and remote rural areas are most commonly most satisfied.
11. Gender, income, car ownership and the frequency of bus use are only occasionally important in defining levels of satisfaction and there are only minor differences between the groups.
Trends in satisfaction over time (2002, 2003 and 2004)
12. In terms of comparisons between years it is generally found that, where statistically significant differences exist, the 2005 satisfaction level is higher than the 2002 and 2004 level and similar to the 2003 level.
13. Apparent trends in satisfaction have been identified where the 2002 and 2005 values differ significantly and the 2003 and 2004 values are consistent with a continuous trend. It has been assumed that any trends which may have reversed direction during the four years of the study will be impossible to distinguish from the year-on-year fluctuation in values. In the vast majority of cases the trends identified are for rising satisfaction and in all cases the trends are gradual and likely to be easily influenced by factors beyond the immediate provision of the service aspect in question.
14. Overall a large number of the 2005 satisfaction values are higher than in previous years and satisfaction levels over time generally appear to be steady but there are apparently rising trends in satisfaction with the overall service and the availability of seating on buses and a declining trend in satisfaction with value for money.
15. When the various areas ( see Annex 1) are considered the most persistent increases in satisfaction appear to be in the Scottish Borders, Dumfries & Galloway and in the Lothians with Strathclyde and the Highlands & Islands also doing quite well. In Grampian and Central, Fife & Tayside satisfaction levels appear to be steady. There is one trend towards declining satisfaction (with the behaviour of other passengers) in Central, Fife & Tayside and three in Grampian (punctuality, service reliability and waiting times at stops). Transport Officers and bus operators in Grampian report that this is likely to be due to ongoing congestion problems and road works on the routes into Aberdeen City.
16. With reference to typology, satisfaction levels in other urban areas have mostly recovered from the lower values recorded in 2004. Apparently rising trends in satisfaction are increasingly common as areas become more urban and satisfaction in remote rural areas appears to be steady. In other urban areas satisfaction with the value for money of the fare paid is declining.
17. Satisfaction amongst older people is rising in more categories than is the case for younger people who also show declining satisfaction with value for money. Women show more satisfaction improvements and apparent trends than men but also show declining satisfaction with value for money. Frequent users appear to have a slightly higher incidence of increasing satisfaction. Differences in the changes over time for car owning and non-car owing households are slight but those from no-car household have the same trend as younger people and women for declining satisfaction with values for money. Those from low income households generally have more increased satisfaction values in 2005 but low and high income households show a similar number of apparent trends over time.
18. In general terms satisfaction with the overall service is generally rising while satisfaction with value for money is often falling. Attributes relating to the condition of buses and bus stops tend to be rising while those relating to the quality of services (frequency, punctuality, reliability and so on) are rising less often and falling in some cases.
19. Satisfaction with the level of information at stops and before travel is not rising noticeably which is surprising as there have been major improvements in these areas in the recent past. It is likely that user expectations are rising as fast as provision improves.
Explaining the changes observed
20. A number of the changes observed can be explained by reference to specific changes in provision. However, given the scale of the year-on-year variation in values in relation to the scale of the identified trends it seems likely that short term factors such as media coverage or prevailing social attitudes can have as large an influence as changes in provision.
The overall picture
21. Satisfaction amongst bus users is high and seems likely to be gradually rising. However, satisfaction with value for money is falling (amongst those who pay) and there are still aspects of services where satisfaction is lower than average. In addition, although users appear to be satisfied with the individual journeys discussed this does not necessarily mean that they would choose to make these journeys again in the same way, recommend them to others or respond positively if asked about bus services in general or about comparisons between buses and private cars.