OC Transpo is doing its best to prove the Rolling Stones were wrong.
You can get satisfaction.
In its 2013 customer survey, Ottawa's transit service improved its overall satisfaction rating to 80% - the best score since before the transit strike of 2008-2009.
That is a 7% improvement over the previous year, and a 21% jump over 2011.
Over 1500 transit users and non-users were surveyed. Non-customers were a little less generous, giving a satisfaction rating of 73%.
But the good news, according to OC Transpo General Manager John Manconi, is more in the trend than the numbers. Respondents rated OC Transpo higher in several categories, from reliability to driver friendliness to safety.
The only question that scored noticeably low was when women were asked about feeling safe and secure at a bus stop late at night. Only 49% of women said they did.
"We understand that rating in the survey and we're now going to focus in on that," says Manconi. One of the improvements OC Transpo is looking at is to make their employees more visible at night. "Our maintenance staff is out there at the evenings doing cleaning and wiring and those types of things (so) give then high-visibility uniforms so that they know that's an OC Transpo staff," Manconi explains.
Overall, the survey results are good news for a transit service that has seen its ridership fall in recent years. Manconi is hoping it will entice more non-riders to give the bus a try.
Read the OC Transpo 2013 Customer Survey.
