Staff Report #1
March 12, 2024
To All Members of the Accessible Public Transit Service Advisory Committee
Re: Voice of the Customer – 2023 Survey
Recommendation
That the report be NOTED and FILED.
Background
One of the guiding principles set out in the Commission’s Business Plan is to be customer-focused – striving every day to improve the customer experience. A fundamental step in moving toward being more customer-focused is to ensure that every decision made is viewed not only from a business perspective, but also from the customer’s perspective. The Voice of the Customer survey was introduced in 2016 for the conventional service and repeated annually. In 2018, the Voice of the Customer survey was expanded to include the specialized service. The annual Voice of the Customer survey process was placed on hold in 2019 to provide administration with the opportunity to assess the most appropriate timing for the surveys, which were set to resume in 2020. Unfortunately, the onset of the global pandemic resulted in the surveys being deferred until 2023.
The remainder of this report provides an overview of both the Conventional and Specialized Voice of the Customer survey results, held in 2023, with 2018 results for comparison purposes where applicable.
Conventional Transit 2023 Survey
A total of 804 surveys were undertaken with transit customers on board London Transit buses over the period of November 29 through December 3, covering all routes in the system which provides results that are accurate at a 95% confidence with a margin of error of +-3.5%. The surveys were conducted during all service periods throughout the day on weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays and in quantities proportional to each route’s ridership by day of week and time period.
Customer Characteristics
The demographic data gathered through the surveys indicates the following with respect to London Transit customers:
- approximately 91% indicate they are dependent on public transit as their mode of transportation
- approximately 89% utilize the service at least three days per week
- the majority (60%) are between the ages of 18 and 29
- to/from work and educational institutions are the two primary reasons for travel amongst riders, accounting for 84% of riders combined
Community Value and Overall Perception
The survey was amended in 2018 to add questions relating to the perceived value that LTC provides to the community, the results of which are set out below. In addition, questions regarding the overall level of satisfaction with the service as well as the perception of service levels as compared to the previous year are included.
Overall Level of Satisfaction
| Statement | 2018 | 2023 |
| Level of Satisfaction (satisfied to very satisfied) | 66% | 72% |
Community Value for Investment Perceptions
| Statement | 2018 | 2023 |
| LTC provides value to the community based on funding it receives | 66% | 57% |
| LTC should receive increased funding to improve services | 68% | 67% |
Level of Service Perceptions
| Statement | 2018 | 2023 |
| Level of service in the past year has: | ||
| Gotten worse | 11% | 11% |
| Stayed the same | 65% | 71% |
| Gotten better | 24% | 19% |
This group of questions is intended to gauge the customer’s perception of the value London Transit provides to the community, and whether the levels of service have improved over the past year. The results are reflective of the incremental approach to increasing service levels through 2023 as resources permitted. The 57% of respondents feeling like the LTC provides value to the community based on the funding it received identifies an opportunity for a communications campaign focusing on the value of the service.
Customer Importance Factors
A key aspect of the Voice of the Customer program is the manner in which it allows the customer to identify the most important factors from their perspective that would result in their satisfaction with the service. Respondents were asked to rate each factor on a scale in terms of importance. Respondents were asked to select the service characteristics which are most important to them. Respondents were also asked to indicate their level of satisfaction with each of the identified priorities. The following table provides the top priorities as the percentage of respondents that identified each of the characteristics as well as the level of satisfaction for each.
2023 Voice of the Customer Service Priorities
| Service Characteristic | Importance Ranking | Satisfaction Level |
| On-time Performance | 34% | 40% |
| Frequency of Service | 11% | 58% |
| Real time Timeliness Info | 10% | 58% |
| Coverage | 9% | 86% |
| Service Delay Information | 5% | 53% |
| Convenient Routes | 5% | 75% |
In addition to the priorities listed in the table, a number of others received less than 5% of responses including hours of operation, travel time, bus cleanliness, fare price, sufficient space, safety on bus, helpful drivers, safely operated bus, days of operation, safety waiting for bus, bus stop cleanliness, courteous customer service representatives and knowledgeable drivers.
On-time performance continues to be identified as the most important service factor to riders, and coupled with the lowest satisfaction level ranking, provides the most opportunity for improvement. As discussed throughout 2023 service update reports, the nature and extent of construction projects throughout the city coupled with the inability to add tripper buses, due to resource shortages, to mitigate schedule adherence issues resulted in on-time performance suffering system wide for most of 2023.
Customer Safety and Security
Earlier Voice of the Customer surveys attempted to gather feedback with respect to customer’s feelings of safety both while waiting for and riding the bus. The results from the 2017 and 2018 survey questions are set out in the tables below.
Customer Satisfaction Levels – Safety While Waiting for/Riding the Bus
| Question | 2017
Yes |
2018
Yes |
2023
Yes |
| Feel safe from unwanted conversation/contact waiting for bus? | 75% | 79% | N/A |
| Experienced unwanted conversation/contact waiting for bus? | 38% | 40% | 39% |
| Witnessed unwanted conversation/contact waiting for bus? | 43% | 44% | N/A |
| Feel safe from unwanted conversation/contact riding the bus? | 88% | 86% | N/A |
| Experienced unwanted conversation/contact riding the bus? | 40% | 41% | 40% |
| Witnessed unwanted conversation/contact riding the bus? | 51% | 52% | N/A |
As indicated in the tables, the response rates from the last two questions as opposed to the first in each category are somewhat contradictory to the first question. By way of example in 2018 86% of customers indicated they felt safe from unwanted conversation/contact while riding the bus, but 41% and 52% indicated they had also experienced or witnessed unwanted conversation/contact. Given these discrepancies, administration worked with the contractor to identify an alternative manner in which to gather feedback relating to perceptions of safety. The approach utilized provides a comparison between feelings of safety from crime and harassment on board buses, in the local grocery store, at a bus stop, and on a sidewalk in a neighbourhood. The table below provides the percentage of respondents who indicated feelings of ‘very safe’ or ‘safe’ in each of the instances.
Percent of Customers Feeling Safe from Crime and Harassment
| Question | 2023
Safe |
2023
Unsafe |
| On board buses | 77% | 3% |
| In the supermarket or grocery store | 87% | 2% |
| At a bus stop | 71% | 7% |
| On the sidewalk in your neighbourhood | 80% | 5% |
Net Promoter Score
Another aspect the Voice of the Customer process reveals is the organization’s Net Promoter Score (NPS) by ascertaining from the respondents based on all things considered, how likely they would be to recommend riding on London Transit to a friend or neighbour. This metric is intended to assess loyalty and word of mouth favourability among actual customers. The interesting aspect of this measure is that it can be utilized to compare performance between organizations across different business sectors, noting the actual business offering is irrelevant in this measure, but rather the focus is on the level of satisfaction the customer feels they receive.
Survey respondents were asked to rate how likely they would be to recommend London Transit on a scale of 0-10, with 0 being very unlikely and 10 being very likely. The NPS is arrived at by subtracting the percentage of detractors (those rating from 0-6) from the percentage of promoters (those ranking from 9-10). Also included in this measure is the group considered passives (those rating from 7-8). The chart below sets out the comparison of results between the 2018 and 2023 surveys.
Net Promoter Score Likelihood of Recommending LTC’s Conventional Service
| Likely to Recommend LTC | 2018 | 2023 |
| Detractors (0-6) | 23% | 26% |
| Neutrals (7-8) | 46% | 38% |
| Promoters (9-10) | 31% | 36% |
| Net Promoter Score | 9% | 11% |
As set out in the table, the net promoter score increased slightly as compared to the 2018 survey, with the most significant shift between neutral (down 8%) and promoters (up 5%). The Net Promoter score of 11% is significantly below the industry average of 29%.
Specialized Transit Survey
As indicated earlier in this report, 2018 was the first year that a Voice of the Customer survey was undertaken for Specialized Transit customers. For this survey wave, 351 surveys were undertaken via telephone with customers who had utilized the service within the past six months.
Customer Characteristics
The demographic data gathered through the surveys indicates the following with respect to LTC customers:
- 68% of respondents indicated LTC specialized service as their primary method of transportation
- the majority (72%) of LTC customers are aged 50 or higher
- 41% of riders utilize a mobility device
- the gender split between riders is 66% female and 33% male
- to/from medical appointments and errands are the two primary reasons for travel amongst LTC specialized riders, accounting for 84% of riders combined
- 37% of respondents had taken trips on conventional service in the past year
Community Value and Overall Perception
The survey includes a general question with respect to the overall satisfaction level with the specialized service, the results of which are set out in the table below and include a comparison to the 2018 survey results.
Overall Satisfaction with Specialized Service
| Statement | 2018 | 2023 |
| Level of Satisfaction (satisfied to very satisfied) | 84% | 91% |
This feedback is further broken down in the following series of questions which look more specifically at each aspect of the service.
Customer Importance Factors
A key aspect of the Voice of the Customer program is the manner in which it allows the customer to identify the most important factors from their perspective that would result in their satisfaction with the service. Respondents were asked to rate each factor on a scale in terms of importance.
The following lists the top factors, in order of importance from the respondent’s perspective as well as the satisfaction rating for each. In addition, the 2018 satisfaction levels for each of the service factors where applicable are provided for comparison purposes.
Customer Satisfaction Levels with Key Importance Factors
| Factor | 2023
Importance Ranking |
2023
Satisfaction Level |
2018
Satisfaction Level |
| Trip Availability | 19% | 64% | 72% |
| Promptly Answered Booking Calls | 16% | 71% | 51% |
| Coverage | 13% | 97% | N/A |
| On-time Performance | 12% | 91% | 84% |
| Fare Price | 11% | 95% | 86% |
| Scheduling Ease | 8% | 57% | 51% |
| Helpful Drivers | 6% | 94% | 91% |
In addition to the service factors listed in the table above, other factors with lower priority rankings include travel time, safety on the vehicle, courteous scheduling agents, safety boarding the vehicle, vehicle cleanliness, safely driven vehicles and vehicle comfort.
With the exception of trip availability, every other prioritized service factor saw improvements in the 2023 survey as compared to the 2018 survey.
A series of additional questions with respect to booking window, use of conventional transit and non accommodated rates were asked, all of which, in addition to the importance ranking and satisfaction levels above, will be utilized as input into the 2024-2027 Business Planning process which includes a 5 year service plan for the specialized service.
Net Promoter Score
Survey respondents were asked to rate how likely they would be to recommend LTC’s Specialized Service on a scale of 0-10, with 0 being very unlikely and 10 being very likely. The NPS is arrived at by subtracting the percentage of detractors (those rating from 0-6) from the percentage of promoters (those ranking from 9-10). Also included in this measure is the group considered passives (those rating from 7-8). The chart below sets out the comparison of results from the 2018 survey.
Net Promoter Score Likelihood of Recommending LTC’s Specialized Service
| Likely to Recommend LTC | 2018 | 2023 |
| Detractors (0-6) | 15% | 17% |
| Neutrals (7-8) | 20% | 41% |
| Promotors (9-10) | 66% | 42% |
| Net Promoter Score | 51% | 25% |
As the chart indicates, the NPS dropped significantly from 2018, with the most significant shifts being in the neutral category (up 21%) and the promoter category (down 24%). Consistent with the results for the conventional service, the NPS for specialized is also significantly lower than the industry average of 50%.
Recommended by:
Kelly S. Paleczny, General Manager