Efforts put into culture development and customer service in recent years by Ohio’s Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority (TARTA) continue to produce positive results, according to a recently completed survey of the people who depend on public transit in northwest Ohio.

The most recent survey, conducted by TransPro Consulting in late April and early May, took place on all TARTA services — fixed route, paratransit, Flex on-demand — and targeted customers riding or waiting for TARTA services at different times of day.

The results show scores a step above both the industry average and previous surveys of TARTA customers in most categories.

“We often say that our team members are the best advertisement that TARTA could have, and it is gratifying to see that the commitment to serving the public and dedication to our improvement made by our entire team is having an impact,” said TARTA CEO Laura Koprowski. “There is still a lot of room for improvement, and we are eager to hear from anyone who depends on our system about where we are falling short and what we can do better. That said, I am happy that people have noticed the effort put in by our Team TARTA members. We look forward to continuing to improve the way we connect people with their communities.”

TARTA’s Customer Satisfaction Survey

A Net Promoter Score (NPS) uses questions to gauge the likelihood that a rider would recommend a service to a friend or neighbor, and the enthusiasm with which they would do so.

According to April’s survey, the NPS for TARTA’s fixed route services is 57 — well above the public transportation industry standard (28) and 41 points above TARTA’s score in a similar poll taken in March of 2022.

Meanwhile, TARTA’s paratransit service has an NPS of 59 — eight points above industry standard and 10 points above where it stood for the team two years ago.

This spring’s survey marked the first conducted for TARTA Flex. TARTA’s on-demand pilot program has an NPS score of 57, with an overall satisfaction rate of 97%.

Overall Satisfaction

The overall customer satisfaction rate for fixed route services sits at 85%, which is eight points above industry average and 11 points above TARTA’s satisfaction rate in November of 2020.

Overall satisfaction with paratransit service is 98%, which remains six points above industry average.