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PTC survey finds commuter satisfaction with public transport at 9-year high

(PHOTO: Public Transport Council)
(PHOTO: Public Transport Council)

Commuters’ satisfaction with Singapore’s public transport services hit a nine-year high of 96.4 per cent in 2016, according to the results of the latest Public Transport Customer Satisfaction Survey (PCTCSS).

The results, released by the Public Transport Council (PTC) on Monday (6 February), showed that satisfaction levels in 2016 rose from 91.8 per cent in 2015. In terms of mean satisfaction score, survey respondents gave the nation’s public transport 7.6 out of 10, up from 7.2 in 2015.

Improvements in satisfaction levels were seen across bus and MRT services. Satisfaction with bus services rose to 96.7 per cent in 2016, from 90.7 per cent in 2015, while satisfaction with MRT services hit 96 per cent in 2016, up from 93.2 per cent 2015.

(PHOTO: Public Transport Council)
(PHOTO: Public Transport Council)

In the area of MRT services, the PTC release attributed the rise in satisfaction to improvements in comfort, travel time and waiting time, noting that satisfaction with rail reliability had also improved.

The release also highlighted developments such as the addition of new trains on the North East and Circle Lines; the opening of the Downtown Line 2; continued maintenance and manpower improvement efforts; and asset renewals on the North-South and East-West Lines, as reasons for the higher satisfaction levels.

(PHOTO: Public Transport Council)
(PHOTO: Public Transport Council)

Regarding bus services, the PTC’s release said that the improved results were likely attributable to the introduction of the Bus Contracting Model, which has increased competition among bus operators and motivated them to improve their services, and the adoption of performance standards for regularity of bus arrivals.

The most recent PTCSS involved 3,869 regular bus and MRT commuters, aged 15 and above, who were randomly selected and interviewed in October 2016 at a range of locations and at various times of the day. The annual survey has been conducted since 2006, with 2016 being the first year the survey was administrated by the PTC, which took over from the Land Transport Authority.