Translink Given Thumbs Up
13 September 2005:
Public Transport monitoring figures released today for Translink’s three operating companies, Metro, N I Railways and Ulsterbus reveal the best set of Customer Satisfaction figures recorded in eight years. 
Translink’s Chief Executive Keith Moffatt explained; “We are delighted with the results of this independent research which was carried out in the spring this year. Significant improvements have been achieved in key performance areas which we believe must be attributed to the introduction of Metro services, Goldline enhancements and the introduction of the new rail service and new C3K trains.
“With continued improvement in perceptions of service quality, including punctuality and staff helpfulness passengers are clearly telling us they like what they see and have responded positively by voting with their feet.
“Passenger numbers on Metro have now increased by 7% representing an impressive increase of 27,000 people using the service each week which equates to over 500 additional full busloads. With Metro now further delivering on reliability and punctuality this further endorses Metro as a significant success story. In addition passenger numbers have also continued to grow on Goldline services now showing an impressive 16% increase since the network enhancements were first introduced.
The results also highlight the initial effects of the new rail service with passengers’ very much welcoming the introduction of the new C3K trains.
“These results also show an increase in satisfaction in terms of value for money. We recognise the importance of this and our promotions prove to be very popular. We regularly recommend the use of Multi-journey products which offer a range of passenger discounts across our services. In particular Smartlink and the £3-£2-£1 Metro day ticket promotion continue to be well used. Notably, while the cost of fuel has soared we have been able to maintain current fares due to effective management.
“While our achievements are already well appreciated our challenge is now to continue to maximise the performance of our services to further enhance key aspects. In addition enhanced bus priority measures are crucial to sustaining this growth and the ongoing success of the new network.
“Faster journeys and more frequency for buses will deliver a quantum increase in bus use. To this end we will continue to work alongside Road Service and other key partners in order to deliver these measures.
“Our program aimed at transforming our rail service and attracting new passengers continues; new trains and the new timetable providing increased capacity of up to 50% on the Portadown – Belfast - Bangor corridor, coupled with the ongoing infrastructure improvements at stations, the Larne Line relay and the soon to be completed new train cleaning facility at Fortwilliam is only the start of the step change in N I Railways services which will ultimately deliver significant benefits to passengers across Northern Ireland.
Mr Moffatt concluded; “We are now experiencing the start of the regeneration of public transport in Northern Ireland and the benefits of the recent increased investment. I would like to thank all our staff for their ongoing efforts, professionalism and commitment to improving our performance standards, often in difficult circumstances.
We will continue to make improvements and develop key partnerships which will together allow us to target and deliver growth in line with the challenging Regional Transportation Strategy targets.
ENDS
For more information and interviews please contact : Sarah Stanczyk, Public Relations 02890 899 455 or Mobile 07711205436
Notes:
Highlights from the Spring monitor include:
· Customer Performance indices clearly identify an increasing trend in passenger satisfaction.
Spring 2004 Autumn 2004 Spring 2005
Metro 65.3 65.4 71.7
Ulsterbus 74.1 75.1 76.8
N I Railways 62.2 64.6 73.4
· Individual customer performance ratings for key performance aspects again continue to improve for all three operating companies:
Spring 2004 Autumn 2004 Spring 2005
Metro
Punctuality 57 61 70
Value for money 53 53 62
Staff Helpfulness 67 66 70
Spring 2004 Autumn 2004 Spring 2005
Ulsterbus
Punctuality 72 77 78
Value for money 61 63 64
Staff Helpfulness 78 76 79
Spring 2004 Autumn 2004 Spring 2005
N I Railways
Punctuality 53 60 76
Value for money 61 61 63
Staff Helpfulness 76 75 78
· Call Centre has once again exceeded the Passenger’s Charter standard responding to 96% of calls within 30 seconds.
· Customer satisfaction levels with the service received at NIR and Ulsterbus stations have also increased in the majority of areas reflecting our program of station improvements and enhancements and staff training programs.
Details concerning Monitor
This publication presents the fifteenth set of results based on the Translink integrated Passenger's Charter.
The figures shown in the tables were obtained from independent monitoring surveys of both bus and rail companies, which were carried out between 4th April and 7th June 2005.
The monitoring process measure our achievements as they relate to the standards set out in our charter for:
· Reliability
· Courtesy
· Being On Time
· Cleanliness
· Comfort
· Answering the Phone
The results are obtained from: Observation Ratings in which the performance of bus and rail services were independently monitored, ‘mystery shopper’ style against the commitments in our Passenger’s Charter, and Customer Performance Ratings which establish customers’ opinions of the services provided.
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