Survey: L.A. Metro riders mostly satisfied

A recently conducted survey of more than 15,000 Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) riders shows that 85 percent of those polled indicated that they either agree or strongly agree that they are satisfied with Metro bus and rail service compared to 15 percent who disagree, while 79 percent believe that the Metro bus/rail system is better today than a year ago.

The latest on-board survey, conducted in June 2009, increases the number of satisfied riders by two percent compared with the last survey, which was conducted in the spring of 2008.

The on-board survey also shows that the perception of on-time performance of the system continues to climb with 76 percent agreeing that their bus/train is generally on time compared to 24 percent who disagreed.

Nearly 82 percent thought that the bus operator on their particular line was courteous, 72 percent believed the bus stops and train stations were clean, 77 percent thought the bus/train they were traveling in was generally clean and 84 percent say they normally have a seat, the highest level of satisfaction with having a seat, up from 81 percent when compared to last year's survey.

The survey also showed that 80 percent say they use the Metro system primarily to commute to and from work, with 28 percent indicating they did have a vehicle available to make their trip bus chose Metro as an alternative to driving.

The on-board survey was conducted system-wide over a four week period by The Applied Management and Planning Group, based in Los Angeles, using a field crew of 20 surveyors that conducted the survey on-board buses and trains as patrons used the system. A total of 15,895 patrons responded to the survey. The survey covered all directly-operated Metro Bus lines and Metro Rail.