Keynote Opening Address

Guy Dangerfield Passenger Issues Manager

Passenger Focus

Information – what passengers need?

Guy Dangerfield Passenger Focus 11 September 2013

guy.dangerfield@passengerfocus.org.uk

07711 319760

Passengers’ core needs are pretty simple ..... • Is there a train or bus? • What time? • From where? • How much will it cost?

• Fares information ... comprehensive on rail • Very sparse on bus

Planning

Planning stage – fares information

On the day – bus passengers’ experience

With buses there are no

mechanisms to find out

what’s going on – whether

it’s cancelled or really

delayed. You do find

yourself just stood there

waiting (Leeds – commuter)

You just get your

information from whoever’s

stood there at the bus stop (Manchester – commuter)

You don’t know what to do you see, if you’re

standing there and it hasn’t come… you’re

thinking ‘Oh my goodness, have I missed it, have

I missed it?’… you don’t know what to do ‘cause

you’ve got to wait for another 112 to come

along… you just have to wait and hopefully

somebody says, ‘Oh yes, it’s running late’ (Birmingham – commuter)

National Rail has

live departures

which is really

useful – why can’t

the buses do the

same? (Leeds – commuter)

• Strong sense that bus passengers feel powerless when faced with delays.

• Many feel there is no way of finding out what is going on

• Adds to stress and anxiety

Powerless ...

• At any railway station or bus stop, passengers need to know ....

> is the train coming > when is it coming

• Visual and audible information should be at all

stations and all well-used bus stops • Trains and buses should be tracked comprehensively

to ensure complete and accurate information • Why should passengers have to gaze into the

distance wondering?

At the station or stop

It's mental torture

sometimes at bus stops

working out whether to

stay or whether to go

• It’s not yet comprehensive, but live departures information is a reality for many – through apps and websites as well as ‘on the ground’

• Station information is gradually improving, and real time bus systems are being introduced to more towns and cities

• Train companies, bus companies and transport authorities have embraced twitter as a means of getting information to passengers

But it is improving!

Rail passenger satisfaction since 1999 ….

National Passenger Survey (rail) 1999-2013

% satisfied or % dealt with delay well

• Information is critical to passengers’ experience during delays

Part practical – “shall I stay, shall I go”

Part emotional – “you treat us like mushrooms – you just don’t care”

• Staff behaviours key, not just technology

Information during delays

[Being communicated with during disruption] makes the passenger

feel that actually, yes, you are important… It’s customer service, its

politeness, it puts everybody in a better mood (Birmingham – Commuter)

Needs to be ..... • Timely • Accurate • Consistent • Useful

Being useful means letting people make an informed choice

I think you just need to

know what’s happening up

front so you can make your

decision as to what you’re

going to do (Birmingham - commuter)

Information during delays

Information screens that say “on time” after the train should have departed ... • Fail the accuracy test

• Fail the usefulness test

• Lead to accusations of ..... “you don’t know what you’re doing”

• Undermine trust and cause doubt about the accuracy of all information

And the same with bus ...

It has happened lots of times that the

count down is saying 10 mins down to 5

mins and then 1 and then it starts from

10 mins again, and you then wonder

what is going on (Leeds - commuter)

What still needs to improve – rail

• All routes should have comprehensive GPS tracking (“we know where it was” just isn’t good enough)

• All stations should have audio and visual real time departures information – it should be a hygiene factor

• Station displays need to stop saying trains are “on time” when they are already late!

• The two minute rule – if you stop in the middle of nowhere, say something fast

• Getting disruption information to passengers on ‘driver only’ trains – a big weakness in current arrangements

• Real time tracking of rail replacement buses (planned or short notice) – is it actually on the way?

What still needs to improve – bus

• A real time system (the ‘back of house’ kit) throughout the country – it shouldn’t be a postcode lottery whether you have one

• 100% automatic vehicle location

• Better prediction engines

• More bus stops capable of providing real time departures and context – audible and visual

• Market real time smartphone apps – few passengers seem to know about them

• Information flow to passengers on a bus that gets delayed – tackle staff attitudes, explore technology

• Help people understand what’s real time prediction and what’s scheduled time

Keep focusing on:

• Is it timely? • Is it accurate? • Is it consistent? • Is it useful?

All available at www.passengerfocus.org.uk

• Delays and disruption: rail passengers have their say, December 2010

• Rail passengers' experiences during the snow, March 2011

• Information: rail passengers’ needs during unplanned disruption, September 2011

(joint research with Southern)

• Passenger Focus assessment of online information provided to rail passengers during high winds January 2012

• Short and Tweet: how passengers want social media during disruption, June 2012

(joint research with Abellio)

• Bus passengers’ experience of delays and disruption, April 2013