2018 Customer Satisfaction Study January 24, 2019 2018 Customer Satisfaction Study Background 1. Objectives • • Track trends in customer satisfaction Prioritize areas for improvement 2. Context for the 2018 update • • Impact of Bay Area homeless crisis on BART Media coverage and rider concerns about personal security on BART in period preceding survey • Continue to see high levels of crowding on peak period trains 3. Methodology • • • • Survey fielded Sep 11 - Oct 21 Random sampling n = 5,292 Weighting of data Board Workshop 2019 1 Satisfaction Overall, how satisfied are you with the services provided by BART? 80% 2016: 69% Satisfied 70% 2018: 56% Satisfied 60% 50% 45% 40% 30% 20% 40% 24% 22% 17% 16% 11% 10% 15% 3% 6% 0% Very Satisfied Somewhat Satisfied Neutral Somewhat Dissatisfied Very Dissatisfied Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding. Board Workshop 2019 2 Recommend to a Friend Would you recommend BART to a friend or out-of-town guest? 80% 2016: 85% Would recommend 70% 60% 2018: 73% Would recommend 55% 50% 40% 38% 36% 30% 30% 17% 20% 10% 10% 3% 6% 1% 0% Definitely Probably Might or might not Probably not 3% Definitely not Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding. Board Workshop 2019 3 Value for the Money “BART is a good value for the money.” 80% 2016: 59% Agree 70% 2018: 54% Agree 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 36% 23% 35% 21% 19% 22% 13% 15% 10% 6% 8% 0% Agree Strongly Agree Somewhat Neutral Disagree Somewhat Disagree Strongly Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding. Board Workshop 2019 4 Satisfaction Trends and Ridership 100% 500,000 Satisfaction OAK opens Avg Wkday Ridership 95% SFO Opens 6/03 Bikes allowed all times Vinyl seats introduced 90% Permit Parking 12/02 85% 80% 80% 78% WSX opens W Dublin Opens 86% 85% 84% Final vinyl seats installed Antioch line opens 450,000 84% 80% 425,000 Final carpets removed 82% 400,000 74% 75% 74% 70% 375,000 69% Recession Work Stoppage 9/97 Work Stoppages: 7/13, 10/13 60% Daily Parking Fees Introduced 55% 350,000 Heightened awareness of security issues 65% 50% 475,000 300,000 56% Weekend svc closures Fare Increases 4/95, 4/96, 4/97 1996 Fare Increase 1/04 1998 2000 Renovation Program 2002 2004 325,000 275,000 250,000 2006 Budget Cuts 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 Meas. RR Programs QoL Initiatives FoF Cars  Board Workshop 2019 5 Largest Service Rating Declines • Declines across most attributes. Largest declines: -19.8% Enforcement against fare evasion -16.4% Personal security in BART system -14.6% Presence of BART Police in stations -14.1% Train interior cleanliness -12.6% Condition / cleanliness of train floors -12.3% Presence of BART Police on trains -11.7% Presence of BART Police outside stations* -11.5% -11.2% -10.2% *Text changed from presence in parking lots Enforcement of no eating and drinking policy Restroom cleanliness Condition / cleanliness of train seats Board Workshop 2019 6 Selected Verbatims On-train safety has deteriorated seriously in the past 4 years. Panhandlers now roam the trains shamelessly. My friends and family are abandoning BART in droves. The issue of mentally ill using BART in increasing numbers has to be addressed. I am often afraid. More police presence would make the trip more comfortable for night travelers, especially females. The #1 problem with BART right now is the sheer volume of homeless people / mentally ill on BART. My wife and co-workers often do not feel safe or clean on BART. Please find a way to fix this. Happy to pay more for this. I ride BART late (11:30pm - 2am) and often am concerned for my safety due to agitated, mentally ill, or aggressive people. I ride BART less than I would because of the presence of unsafe conditions. I'd like to see BART be safe for its passengers, especially women of color…. Too many homeless sleeping in cars. Complete impunity to fare evasion. Too many homeless people on BART asking for money. I’ve found needles, urine, fecal matter on seats. Homeless harassing riders. I feel unsafe all the time. We need police present on train. The BART trains are generally very dirty, and they smell of urine. The floors are filthy and often times the seats are as well. The increased police presence has improved the overall shocking quality of BART as of late. Please Board Workshop 2019 7 continue to increase security and enforce regulations! Service Rating Improvements • Ratings of the following attributes increased: Noise level on trains 3.5% Hours of operation 3.0% bart.gov website 2.9% Availability of standing room on trains 2.0% Clipper cards 0.9% Length of lines at exit gates 0.8% Board Workshop 2019 8 DERIVED IMPORTANCE MORE IMPORTANT LESS IMPORTANT 2018 BART Customer Satisfaction Survey Quadrant Chart 145 I a rg Station condition?f state of repair I 130 . Train seat condition . Train interior cleanliness ain floor condition .. Personal secu I Station cleanliness . .Seat availability Train temp 115 Restroom cleanliness . Space for luggage, bIkes, strollers Elevator cleanliness . . Police in stations Police outside statio . Train windows ddressing homelessness . Police on trains Graffiti. . Train noise 85 Train PA 0 . Car Fare evasion enforcement . No eatingr'drinking enforcement 7O 55 2.7 4.0 LOWER RATING (Scale midpoint) availability Train seat comfort . evator availability . Escalator availabilit Agent availability . On-time erforma nce . Train fre uen . CY Exit lines 0 Agent Faregate reliability helpfulness] Transit transfers BART 1: courtesy Disabled access . rans ers . TVM reliability Parking . Delay information lighting . Station signs . Bike parking 0 BART tickets . Operating hours . . bart.gov website . zips? availability 6.1 4.7 (1996 benchmark average) HIGHER RATING PERFORMANCE (7 point scale: 1=poor to 7=excellent) Spring 2018 Ridership Survey What are the main reasons you are riding less often on weekdays, compared to a year ago? Base: Riding BART less on weekdays Changed my home or work location 35% BART is too dirty 27% Concern about crime on BART 23% Trains too crowded 21% Employment situation changed 20% Working from home / telecommuting more often 18% BART fares too expensive 16% Difficult to find parking at BART station 15% 12% BART service delays Travel time too long using BART BART service is not frequent enough BART parking too expensive No longer in school / fewer classes n: 244 9% 8% 7% 6% Board Workshop 2019 10 Trough to Peak • Previous instance of satisfaction at 74% in 1998, after which satisfaction rose to an all-time high of 86% in 2004 • $1.2 billion investment in renovation 18 Target Issues in 1998 2 Target Issues in 2004 TVM reliability Station Agent avail. Train cleanliness Fare gate reliability Personnel courtesy Ticket refunds Lines at exit gates Ticket refunds Escalator avail. Seat availability Elevator avail. Train temperature Train cleanliness Noise level Station cleanliness PA announcements Station condition Bus connections Personal security Leadership in reg’l trans. Board Workshop 2019 11 Escalators out of service Board Workshop 2019 12 Customer Ratings 1998 – 2004 • Overall satisfaction grew from 74% to 86%. Top increases: Reliability of ticket vending machines 39.4% Escalator availability and reliability 22.5% Length of lines at exit gates 22.3% Condition/cleanliness of train windows 15.9% Elevator availability and reliability 15.9% Gain in mean score from 1998 to 2004 (%) Board Workshop 2019 13 Turning the Corner Cleanliness Progress Passenger Environment Survey (PES) 80% 70% FY18 Q1: "Excellent" or "Good" FY19 Q1: "Excellent" or "Good" 68% 62% 62% 60% 56% 50% 43% 40% 56% 44% 33% 30% 20% 10% 0% Cleanliness of Station Platform Restroom Cleanliness Elevator Cleanliness Train Interior Cleanliness Board Workshop 2019 14 Turning the Corner Civic Center Progress Passenger Environment Survey (PES) Civic Center Ratings 60% 56% FY18 Q1: "Excellent" or "Good" FY19 Q1: "Excellent" or "Good" 50% 40% 40% 37% 30% 30% 20% 10% 0% Cleanliness of Station Platform Elevator Cleanliness* *Not statistically significant due to small sample sizes. Board Workshop 2019 15 Turning the Corner Elevator Attendant Pilot Program • Elevator attendant program at Powell St. and Civic Center since April 30th. • Elevator user survey at Civic Center showed satisfaction more than doubled after program started. Civic Center Elevator Survey 93% 100% Baseline Pilot Program 80% 60% 44% 40% 20% 0% Very or Somewhat Satisfied “Please keep this going. I feel so much safer, and it doesn't smell.” “Very good for people with disabilities.” “Program amazing – commuting with two children.” “Love elevator attendants – please keep them.” Board Workshop 2019 16 Turning the Corner Homelessness Progress Downtown San Francisco Station Transient Counts September 2017 - December 2018 180 159 160 142 138 140 120 153 117 116 119 132 119 111 112 100 111 93 80 85 87 78 60 40 20 0 9/17 10/17 11/17 12/17 1/18 2/18 3/18 4/18 5/18 6/18 7/18 8/18 9/18 10/18 11/18 12/18 Board Workshop 2019 17 Turning the Corner Impact of Fleet of the Future • As new Fleet of the Future cars go into service, satisfaction is expected to improve. Passenger Environment Survey (PES) Q2 FY19 Legacy cars: "Excellent" or "Good" FoF cars: "Excellent" or "Good" 100% 90% 81% 80% 70% 60% 93% 91% 90% 77% 57% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Train Interior Cleanliness Comfortable Temperature Onboard Onboard Announcements Board Workshop 2019 18 Customer Satisfaction Initiatives Underway 1. Homelessness 2. Cleanliness 3. Fare evasion 4. Safety and security 5. Fleet of the Future roll out Board Workshop 2019 19 Summary 1. Customer satisfaction has declined 2. The top issues are related to quality of life – homelessness, security, fare evasion, and cleanliness 3. New initiatives are moving forward to address these issues, and there are signs that BART is beginning to turn a corner, but more will be needed to achieve higher customer satisfaction Board Workshop 2019 20 Discussion Board Workshop 2019 21