NJ TRANSIT MAKES THE GRADE IN LATEST CUSTOMER SURVEY
Customers rank overall satisfaction at 6.0 systemwide; agency achieves Fiscal Year 2012 goal, sets goal of 6.5 for FY13
August 8, 2012
NJT-12-064
NEWARK, NJ — Marking the first complete fiscal year of Scorecard, NJ TRANSIT today posted an overall customer satisfaction score of 6.0 systemwide, achieving the agency’s Fiscal Year 2012 goal with its fourth quarter results. The results, which will continue to guide system and customer service improvements across NJ TRANSIT services, were announced at this month’s regularly scheduled NJ TRANSIT Board of Directors meeting.
Scorecard, which launched in July 2011, is an initiative designed to provide the public with a clear measurement of how the organization is performing, while driving strategic decisions to improve the overall customer experience. Along with the latest survey results, the agency also announced its new customer satisfaction goal of 6.5 for the current fiscal year.
“As the key driver and performance measurement tool for all areas of the corporation, Scorecard has shaped NJ TRANSIT into a more accountable, results-driven agency that is more responsive to the needs of our riders who use the system every day,” said Transportation Commissioner and NJ TRANSIT Board Chairman James Simpson. “While we are proud of achieving our FY12 goal for overall customer satisfaction, our work is far from over. We will continue to raise the bar to further boost that score by making improvements across the system, with a focus on the areas most important to customers.”
The fourth quarter survey was conducted online at njtransit.com and in the field between June 8 and June 29. The survey asked bus, rail, light rail and Access Link customers to rate NJ TRANSIT on a scale of 0 to 10. Customers also considered 41 attributes of the system related to facilities, service, vehicles, communications and the overall experience using NJ TRANSIT. In addition, customers were asked to identify the most important aspects of NJ TRANSIT service among the items they rated.
Of the approximately 440,700 customers who use NJ TRANSIT service on a typical weekday, NJ TRANSIT received nearly 16,000 responses to the online and field survey.
Regarding customer loyalty, 76 percent of the customers surveyed said they would recommend NJ TRANSIT to a friend, relative or neighbor (up from 67 percent from the baseline rating). NJ TRANSIT established the baseline with the first customer survey conducted in advance of the launch of Scorecard last year.
“In just one year since its launch, Scorecard has changed the very culture of NJ TRANSIT to focus on performance standards and absolute results to best serve our customers,” said NJ TRANSIT Executive Director James Weinstein. “With improved customer satisfaction ratings, and the notion that three out of every four NJ TRANSIT customers continue to recommend our service, it is clear that Scorecard is moving the agency in the right direction.”
Survey Results – Fourth Quarter FY12
For the fourth quarter of FY12, customers rated their overall satisfaction with NJ TRANSIT service as above average with a score of 6.0—a substantial increase over the baseline rating of 5.2—achieving the agency’s FY 2012 goal of 6.0 for customer satisfaction.
“By establishing a baseline rating along with a concrete goal, as an agency NJ TRANSIT knew exactly where we were at and where we needed to go,” said Executive Director Weinstein. “However, we want our customers to understand that as we achieve our original goals, we are not going to sit back and relax—we are going to set new ones to make additional progress in terms of moving the needle for customer satisfaction.”
Current customer satisfaction ratings on NJ TRANSIT’s four service modes are as follows:
- Bus customers rated their overall satisfaction with service at a 6.1, higher than the 5.5 baseline rating and a low of 5.4 (2nd quarter, FY12). The most important areas for NJ TRANSIT to improve again included on-time performance, fares and the weekday PM peak schedule. About 270,900 customers use NJ TRANSIT’s interstate and local bus system on a typical weekday, representing approximately 62 percent of all NJ TRANSIT customers.
- Rail customers gave NJ TRANSIT an overall score of 5.7, a significant increase from the baseline score of 4.5 and a low of 4.1 (2nd quarter, FY12). Customers ranked fares, mechanical reliability and the handling of service disruptions as the most important attributes that need improvement. Approximately 130,600 customers ride NJ TRANSIT trains on a typical weekday, comprising nearly 30 percent of all NJ TRANSIT customers.
- Light Rail customers gave NJ TRANSIT an overall satisfaction rating of 6.9, an improvement over the baseline score of 6.5. Customers indicated that seating availability, fares and cleanliness on board are the most important aspects of service to improve. About 35,800 customers use NJ TRANSIT’s three light rail lines on a typical weekday, making up more than eight percent of total NJ TRANSIT customers.
- Access Link, NJ TRANSIT’s paratransit service for customers with disabilities, was given an overall rating of 8.2, higher than the 7.5 baseline. Access Link serves approximately 3,500 customers on a typical weekday.
Of the 41 attributes of the system customers were asked to rate, systemwide scores increased on all but two attributes—Payment Options and NJ TRANSIT’s website—both of which remained constant at a strong score of 7.0.
“Through the Scorecard initiative, NJ TRANSIT has achieved measurable results over the last year, due to in large part to the invaluable feedback we have regularly received from the people who use our services,” said Executive Director Weinstein. “For the upcoming year, we are setting our overall customer satisfaction goal at a 6.5, and we intend to see that every area of the agency—from the rail, bus, light rail and Access Link operating divisions, to customer communications, to fare collection, to capital construction—continues to make improvements to enhance the customer experience.”
NJ TRANSIT will continue to use the survey results to target specific improvements needed to boost customer satisfaction. Surveys are being conducted quarterly so NJ TRANSIT can track results, with the first survey of Fiscal Year 2013 set to be available from August 13 through August 29.
Detailed survey results are available at njtransit.com/surveyresults. In addition to the customer survey results, NJ TRANSIT has also published final FY12 Scorecard metrics in the areas of customer experience, safety and security, financial performance, corporate accountability and employee excellence, available at njtransit.com/scorecard.
NJ TRANSIT Customer Satisfaction Ratings
(0 to 10 scale)*
4th Quarter Baseline
Overall: 6.0 5.2
Bus: 6.1 5.5
Rail: 5.7 4.5
Light Rail: 6.9 6.5
Access Link: 8.2 7.5
*0 = unacceptable, 5 = acceptable, 10 = excellent
About NJ TRANSIT
NJ TRANSIT is the nation's largest statewide public transportation system providing more than 895,000 weekday trips on 260 bus routes, three light rail lines, 12 commuter rail lines and through Access Link paratransit service. It is the second largest transit system in the country with 164 rail stations, 60 light rail stations and more than 19,000 bus stops linking major points in New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia.