On-Board and Intercept Transit Survey Techniques (2005) / Chapter Skim
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Pages 18-39
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From page 18... ...
Introductions typically request cooperation, convey that the survey will help to improve transit service, and provide instructions on where to return the questionnaire. Stating the purpose of the survey and how the survey supports "group values" (e.g., improving bus and rail service)
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Origin and destination Trip purpose, fare payment, other trip characteristics Frequency of transit use; how long use transit Customer satisfaction Vehicles available to HH; for trip Alternative mode Rider demographics Survey Questions Reasons to use transit Awareness, web use, etc. Needed improvements FIGURE 1 Translating agency needs into research questions and survey questions.
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Survey results form a profile of where and when customers use transit services. The substantial body of O&D surveys reported by transit agencies reflects the usefulness of on-board and intercept surveys to capturing travel behavior information.
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TriMet staff believes that a simpler format is less intimidating to riders than the more extensive formats they used in earlier O&D surveys. Even more simply, a SMART survey asked for the corner of two streets; instructions were under the lines specifying, "Address, street name, or landmark" and "Street name," respectively (Figure 2)
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Some agencies have experimented with reordering the questions. The CTA West Side Customer Travel Survey begins by asking, "What bus route are you riding now?
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General Travel Questions General travel questions used on questionnaires provided by transit agencies include: • Frequency of using transit, • How long the respondent has been using transit, • Vehicles available to the household, and • Alternative modes. Frequency of transit use shows the degree to which riders are regular versus occasional users.
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Less than a month 1–6 months 7–12 months 1–2 years 2–4 years More than 4 years TABLE 10 SURVEY QUESTIONS RELATED TO WHO USES TRANSIT
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If bus service was not available, how would you make this trip? Drive Ride with someone Taxi Walk Bicycle Would not make this trip TABLE 10 (Continued)
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The number of service attributes presented -- and the level of detail -- varies widely. In questionnaires provided by transit agencies, the number of attributes ranged from 5 (Sun Tran, Tucson, Arizona)
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___ Sun Tran (Tucson) Including yourself, how many people live in the household where you live or where you stay in the Tucson area?
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Buses are on time Bus passes are sold at convenient locations Travel time on the bus is reasonable Buses are clean inside The Transit Center is clean and well maintained It's easy to get bus information on the phone The transit system serves all parts of the city Buses begin running early enough in the morning Buses continue to run late enough at night There is frequent bus service on weekdays There is frequent bus service on Saturdays There is frequent bus service on Sundays Bus fares are reasonable You feel safe from crime at the Charlotte Transit Center You feel safe from crime on the bus TABLE 12 SURVEY QUESTIONS RELATED TO CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
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One approach is to focus primarily on the availability of an automobile as the primary alternative mode, with some surveys simply asking whether the respondent had an automobile available for this trip. People who have a car available for the trip are viewed as "choice" riders, who are using transit because of the quality of service or other factors.
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Why did you use Pace today instead of another way of traveling? Don't drive No car available Reduces pollution Prefer transit Can read or relax Unavailable parking No license Cheaper than driving Expensive parking Other Bi-State Development Agency (St.
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Transit Please tell us three things that we could do to improve bus service. Please check only up to three: More bus routes Fewer transfers Park & ride lots More information More frequent bus service Express buses More evening and weekend service More comfortable buses Better on-time performance Bus stop shelters/benches Other (specify)
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Dillman suggests starting with attitudinal questions, which are likely to have high salience with respondents, rather than factual questions of less interest. However, it has not been tested whether starting transit surveys with attitudinal questions would increase response rates.
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Yes No TABLE 15 SURVEY QUESTIONS RELATED TO AGENCY COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION
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notes in the context of mail surveys, designers of transit surveys sometimes decide to save space by listing answer choices in two or three columns, particularly when a large number of choices are involved. Surveys provided by transit agencies frequently adopt multi-column formats or list choices horizontally on the same line.
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This is my first bus on this trip. Cat Tran I transferred from Sun Tran Route TICET Please give the bus route # Cross Streets Name the cross streets of the nearest corner OR name of the transit center or park and ride.
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A matrix format might also convey the meaning of a oneway trip. 36 Transit agencies reported mixed success with matrix formats, however.
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contribute to this positive experience. Aside from O&D questions, transit agencies have used matrix formats successfully for attitude and fare payment questions.
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Metro (Los Angeles) 2004 On-Board Customer Satisfaction Survey 14,265 5,125 35.9 Santa Monica (CA)
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From page 39... ...
However, it also appears more cluttered, which could possibly affect response rates, item nonresponse, and/or accuracy of answers. Surveying Respondents Who Cannot Read Although some respondents can complete a questionnaire in Spanish (or another language)
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