SINGAPORE: Commuters’ satisfaction levels with public transport dipped last year mainly due to the fall in satisfaction levels with MRT services, according to the results of a survey released by the Public Transport Council (PTC) on Tuesday (Feb 13).
They dipped to 94.5 per cent last year – down from 96.4 per cent in 2016, the first time in four years that satisfaction levels have dropped.
(Source: Public Transport Council)
Satisfaction levels with MRT services dropped to 91.8 per cent from 96 per cent in 2016.
The mean satisfaction score for MRT services also dipped to 7.5 out of 10, down from 7.6 in 2016. This was largely driven by lower scores in the areas of reliability, waiting time, comfort, travel time and service information.
“The decrease in the mean satisfaction score for MRT services follows the Oct 7, 2017 tunnel flooding incident between Bishan and Braddell MRT stations, as well as the teething delays experienced by commuters from testing of the new signalling system on the North-South Line (NSL) from March 2017,” the PTC said.
(Source: Public Transport Council)
However, the survey found that there was an improvement in scores for station accessibility. The PTC said that this could be due to the opening of the 20 new stations on the Tuas West Extension and Downtown Line 3.
Despite the dip in satisfaction scores for MRT services, the mean satisfaction score for public transport rose from 7.6 in 2016 to 7.7 last year, PTC said. The slight improvement is due to the sustained improvements in ratings for bus services.
Satisfaction with bus services remained at 96.7 per cent. The mean satisfaction score rose to 7.9 from 7.6 in 2016.
The rise was largely driven by improvements across all eight bus service attributes – waiting time, reliability, service information, bus interchange/bus stop accessibility, comfort, travel time, customer service and safety/security.
It’s the fifth consecutive year of improvement in the mean satisfaction score for buses. The PTC said that this may be attributed to several factors, including the successful implementation of the five-year Bus Service Enhancement Programme.
(Source: Public Transport Council)
Commuters now enjoy more frequent and timelier bus arrivals, enhanced bus connectivity and more comfortable rides, the PTC added.
The Public Transport Customer Satisfaction Survey has been conducted annually since 2006. For the latest survey, 5,007 regular bus and MRT commuters, aged 15 years and above, were randomly selected and interviewed in October 2017 at bus interchanges, bus stops and MRT stations, during both peak (7am to 9am and 5pm to 7pm) and off-peak periods.
