Two surveys published within a week of each other paint contrastingly different pictures of bus services in Scotland. While Transport Focus found 89% of passengers expressing overall satisfaction, Citizens Advice Scotland found 64% dissatisfied by frequencies of scheduled services and 58% by value for money.
Both organisations respect the validity of the other’s survey and agree that they asked different questions of different people.
Transport Focus, which has no statutory bus role in Scotland, interviewed over 3,800 passengers using services operated by First, Stagecoach and National Expressowned Xplore Dundee, all of which agreed to participate in the survey. Council-owned Lothian Buses — a frequent winner of national awards — did not take part this time. ‘To measure customer experience, you have to do it the way that we do,’ says director David Sidebottom.
CAS sought the views of anyone — bus user or non-user — throughout Scotland and received over 4,600 responses from all local authority areas as part of the Scottish government’s ‘national conversation’ over its forthcoming Transport Bill, which will include new powers for local authorities to influence the provision of bus services.
‘There was a …
