Public transport has become more complex. Have your measurement frameworks kept pace?

Travel experiences are shaped by everyday life — not just by the transport journey itself 

• New parents prioritise logistics, space, and accessibility.
• Young students prioritise flexibility, affordability, speed, and smooth transfers.
• Older passengers prioritise safety, simplicity, and accessibility.

Satisfaction surveys do not provide the full picture 

We typically see three challenges that are not addressed by customer satisfaction surveys. Fortunately, all three can be tackled by complementing satisfaction surveys with broader and deeper perspectives that reflect the complexity of customers’ realities and travel experiences.

 1) Our measurements capture only one part of the bigger picture

Even if a customer is satisfied with an individual train journey, that does not tell us how they experience the journey as a whole — or how they perceive their overall options for getting from A to B.

Solution: Broaden the perspective to include customers’ perceived mobility by asking about the overall travel experience, as well as the connections and interdependencies surrounding the journey.

2) We measure customers — but not those who opt out
Customer satisfaction surveys typically capture those who already use the service. But if public transport is to evolve, we also need to take an interest in the potential to attract more users.

Solution: Broaden the target group and include non-customers in the measurement approach in order to understand the barriers, needs, and perceptions of those who have opted out of this transport option.

3) We get a score — but no explanation

A satisfaction score can tell us whether something is working well or poorly. But it rarely tells us why, nor does it indicate what specifically needs to change in order to improve the customer travel experience.

Solution: Satisfaction surveys are often based on quantitative data, which can help identify patterns and highlight problem areas and opportunities. However, it is often valuable to complement them with qualitative questions and methods that can provide context and explanation for the quantitative findings.

Rethink your measurement approach to generate deeper, more actionable insights

If we continue to measure only individual journeys with individual operators and optimise each leg in isolation, we risk sub-optimising the overall travel experience across modes of transport and operators. When customers decide how to travel, they evaluate the journey as a whole — along with their wider mobility options. Ultimately, it is the overall travel experience that determines whether public transport is seen as an attractive choice in everyday life and whether customers feel they have good mobility options.

That is why we recommend that transport operators regularly revisit the questions and perspectives used in their satisfaction surveys. Looking back at previous surveys from time to time and considering how the perspective can be broadened is an important step towards creating greater value for customers. Used in this way, satisfaction surveys can become an active tool for developing better, more coherent travel experiences.