In April, SouthWest Transit staff was on site at all its park and ride facilities to greet riders and ask that they complete the annual Rider Survey. Almost 1,800 surveys were handed out; over 86 percent of the surveys were completed and returned. The vast majority of them indicated that SWT riders are very pleased with the service.
“We take these survey results and our riders’ opinions very seriously,” said Len Simich, CEO of SouthWest Transit. “These results, along with our own monitoring, are used as the basis for changes we will look at in the upcoming year.”
99.9 percent of those who completed the survey say they are satisfied or very satisfied with the overall service provided by SouthWest Transit. In specific areas the cleanliness of the buses and transit facilities as well as the drivers’ safety and courtesy were ranked high by more than 99 percent of respondents.
Service reliability and on-time performance also ranked very well at 98 percent.
Comments from riders include:
• compliments for Wi-Fi equipped buses with requests for more Wi-Fi service
• requests for more service especially from outlying suburbs
• approval of the rider-requested quiet zone for cell phones
• appreciation for the SWT phone app with requests for more features
• anticipation of the opening of the East Creek Station and Ramp in Chaska
Some other interesting results from the survey include:
• Women make up nearly 55% of the riders
• Over 76 percent ride SouthWest Transit five days a week
• 79 percent of the riders would drive alone if the bus were not available
• Eden Prairie residents account for 52 percent of the riders, with 13 percent from Chanhassen,11 percent from Chanhassen, and 24 percent from surrounding communities
• More than 79 percent of SWT riders stated that they would prefer SouthWest Transit express service to light rail service
SouthWest Transit is proud of being an organization focused on customer service, with innovations such as Wi-Fi equipped buses and a real-time phone app. “We continue to work towards making our riders’ experience on SouthWest Transit the best it can be,” Simich said.
