In its fourth consecutive year of commissioned surveying of the community, the Denver Regional Transportation District (Denver RTD) is working to better understand its strengths as an agency and identify opportunities for improvement. In August, customers were asked to complete the intercept survey and provide their feedback while riding Denver RTD’s buses and trains. The results were shared Oct. 7 during the Denver RTD Board’s performance committee meeting. The agency also conducted its annual survey in June and July to gather feedback from individuals who use Denver RTD’s paratransit services, as well as a separate survey to garner overall community feedback.
Customer excellence surveys: Bus and rail
The agency notes customer feedback was obtained via intercept surveys across a sampling of individuals using all bus routes and rail lines throughout the agency’s service area. In total, survey respondents used either bus (75 percent) or rail services (74 percent) three or more days a week, with 56 percent of customers using Denver RTD services to commute to and from work.
According to Denver RTD, findings indicate that 68 percent of bus customers and 63 percent of rail customers are “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with Denver RTD services, a decrease from 76 percent and 78 percent, respectively, in 2023. Notably, the survey period coincided with the end of the first phase of Denver RTD’s Downtown Rail Reconstruction Project and followed several months of light-rail service delays and speed restrictions due to the agency’s preventive maintenance and state of good repair efforts.
The agency says approximately half of bus customers and a majority of light rail and commuter rail customers reported being impacted by Denver RTD’s maintenance efforts. In spite of the maintenance projects, Denver RTD’s bus customers are 10 percent more satisfied and rail customers are two percent more satisfied with transit services when compared to the national average, which were provided by Denver RTD’s third-party survey consultant.
The surveys also provided Denver RTD with Net Promoter Scores (NPS) for bus, rail and paratransit customers and community members. The agency notes NPS is an indication for how likely someone is to recommend the agency’s services to a friend or neighbor. Scores are measured on a scale of zero to 10 and are calculated by subtracting detractors from promoters. Denver RTD’s NPS scores for bus and rail increased slightly overall in 2024. Compared to 2023, Denver RTD’s NPS score for bus increased by six points and increased 10 points for light-rail services. Both scores remain above zero, meaning that Denver RTD has more promoters in the community than detractors. Denver RTD’s combined score of 13 is higher than the national average (-17) for transit services.
Denver RTD customers also rated operators higher than the national average for safe vehicle operation, with 83 percent of bus customers giving high marks to the frontline employees. In total, 85 percent of light rail and commuter rail customers also indicated the trains are safely operated. Nationally, 70 percent of bus and 75 percent of rail customers indicate their vehicles are operated safely.
“These survey results continue to illustrate the tremendous value [Denver] RTD delivers to the communities the agency serves and while I am also encouraged to see that [Denver] RTD is leading the way across a myriad of factors compared to national averages, the agency has no intention to rest on its laurels, as we collectively strive for continuous improvement in order to make lives better through connections,” said Denver RTD General Manager and CEO Debra A. Johnson.
Other survey highlights include 87 percent of bus customers and 85 percent of rail customers indicating the agency’s services provide value to the community, compared to 69 percent and 72 percent, respectively, for the national average. Customers who use Denver RTD’s bus or rail services rated the frequency of routes being slightly more important overall when compared with feedback provided in the 2023 survey.
Customer excellence survey: Paratransit
Denver RTD also conducted a customer survey between June 18 and July 19 for registered, eligible individuals who specifically use the agency’s paratransit services. Paratransit customers were contacted via text message, email and mail for survey distributions. The agency says overall satisfaction for paratransit services improved from 2023, with 80 percent of respondents reporting they are “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with Access-a-Ride and the percentage of “dissatisfied” and “very dissatisfied” Access-a-Ride customers decreased to five percent in 2024, down from 13 percent in 2023. Denver RTD’s NPS for paratransit services also increased 39 points, moving from 20 to 59. Almost half of paratransit customers use the ADA service for medical appointments.
Community value survey
In addition to gathering feedback via customer intercept surveys in August 2024, Denver RTD notes separate mail surveys solicited input from households across the agency’s service area. Community surveys were mailed to a random sample of USPS addresses throughout the eight-county district with feedback collected in June and July. Highlights from the community survey indicated 86 percent of respondents believe Denver RTD provides value to the region, up from 84 percent in 2023. Denver RTD’s Community NPS also increased 22 points year over year.
Results summaries
The agency says all surveys were conducted in English and Spanish, with language assistance available in an additional 20 languages, as well as assistance for customers who are blind or visually impaired. All surveys were administered to a target sample of the population to ensure they were statistically valid and representative of customers and the community.
