Things riders like least about the Vancouver transit experience

Vancouver’s transit system is pretty sufficient — arguably one of the best in North America — but Vancouver riders feel the experience could be improved in several ways.

The agenda for the most recent mayors’ council meeting included the results of a recent survey and study.

That survey resulted in a kind of scorecard for the Vancouver transit system, grading it in several categories. While TransLink fared well in many of those categories, some scores reflected the ways riders felt that the service could be improved.

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TransLink’s Customer Service Performance study found that two-thirds of riders awarded good-to-excellent ratings for overall transit service, with a mean score of 7.9 out of 10 — the same as one year ago.

“Two-thirds (67%) of bus riders award top ratings for Overall Bus Service, which is a significant 10 ppt increase from last wave, and only a one ppt drop from the same period last year,” the study says.

How Vancouver riders scored the transit system

While TransLink’s service fared pretty well overall, according to the study, some areas left room for improvement, improvements that may be hard to come by without a large expansion of service. The study was broken down into bus, SkyTrain, and SeaBus services.

Anything above 7.0 is above the positive performance threshold.

SkyTrain

One attribute with a lot of room for improvement was concerning SkyTrain delays being announced and explained. Riders scored SkyTrain service 6.0 in that category, which falls under the positive performance threshold. Over the last year, we’ve seen major disruptions to SkyTrain service. However, delays being announced and explained aren’t considered a top key driver.

Overcrowding on SkyTrain was also scored under the positive performance threshold, with an average score of 6.7.

“Just over four in ten riders (41%) provide positive scores for not being overcrowded, a 1 ppt lift from last quarter but a significant decrease from the same quarter last year (down 7 ppt). This attribute is again the lowest rated top key driver of SkyTrain’s overall service.”

Riders also gave TransLink high scores (8.6) for having courteous and helpful SkyTrain staff.

Despite some service issues facing SkyTrain, the overall service was scored 8.2.

Bus

Bus overcrowding fared slightly better, with an average score of 7.0. Overcrowding on Vancouver transit has been a frequently discussed topic.

Based on the study, Vancouver bus riders really enjoy their bus drivers.

The highest score for bus service was 8.8 for having a safe and professional operator. The top key driver that scored the best was having a courteous bus operator, with an 8.4. Frequency of service was scored above the positive performance threshold with a 7.4.

Providing reliable on-time service was scored at 7.6, and overall, bus service was scored at 8.0.

SeaBus

SeaBus service was generally viewed favourably, with the lowest score being 7.7 in the category of staff availability when needed. Overall, SeaBus service scored 8.7.

Across all travel types, riders scored the transit system a 7.9, again above the positive performance threshold.

Do you resonate with TransLink’s findings? If you’re a transit rider, what areas of the service do you personally think need to be improved?