March 5, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Decatur Bus System Receives High Marks From Riders
DECATUR – Three out of every four city bus riders surveyed recently rated transit service as “excellent” or “good” in most areas of service according to a poll conducted by the city’s transit management company.
First Transit Inc. commissioned the survey this year, which asked riders to rate 11 areas of service. At least 75% of riders surveyed rated the transit system as “good” to “excellent” in 10 of the 11 categories with “courtesy of the bus drivers” receiving the highest rating. Ninety percent of riders rated driver courtesy as “good” to “excellent.”
Other areas of service surveyed that rated high include “safety of bus drivers” (88% good to excellent), “security on buses” (75%), courtesy of DPTS staff (83%), “security at the transit center” (76%) and “area served by buses” (83%). The lowest rated area was “cleanliness of buses” in which only 58% of the riders rated it “good” to “excellent.”
The survey results can be viewed at www.decaturil.gov under the “public information” tab. There were a total of 665 survey respondents, most of which ride buses 5-6 days per week (66%) and who don’t currently have a car or driver’s license (75%).
First Transit agreed to perform an annual customer satisfaction survey when awarded the transit management contract in June 2009 in response to concerns raised by Councilman Pat Laegeler.
“We want to make sure that we are providing a world class transit service and the best way to determine whether we are doing so is to ask the residents who use the system,” said Councilman Laegeler. “As the survey indicates, many people who ride our buses do so out of necessity and it’s important that we provide a safe, comfortable and efficient experience.
“The results of the survey for the most part are very positive and we will work hard to make sure that we address any issues raised by riders.”
The survey also asked riders for recommendations on how to best improve the transit system. The most frequently recommended improvement was the suggestion that late night service be added which will be considered as funds become available.
Seven percent of riders called for “cleaner buses,” 10% recommended “improved vehicle maintenance” and 13% requested “new buses,” issues that will be addressed with the delivery of four new buses this summer. All transit system buses will be 2001 models or newer once the new buses arrive.
“This shows that in general the transit system’s passengers are very pleased with the service provided,” said Paul McChancy, Mass Transit Administrator. “The riders are pleased with the operators and staff, they feel safe and for the most part the riders surveyed use the system extensively.
“But there are areas in which we should make improvements, such as the cleanliness of the buses, and those are improvements that we plan to make.”
Staff will continue to monitor system performance and the passengers’ opinions in an ongoing effort to improve the system and to better serve the needs of the public. For more information contact Paul McChancy at 424-2820 or Billy Tyus at 424-2753.