Satisfaction rise in service users

A Metrolink tram

CUSTOMER satisfaction for Metrolink continues to grow, a recent national survey has found.

Transport Focus surveyed 2,954 passengers on Metrolink - the UK's largest light rail system - between September 28 2015 and November 26 2015.

89 per cent were very or fairly satisfied with their journey, up from 85 per cent in 2014 and a step closer to the national average of 92 per cent for overall satisfaction across other tram networks.

The survey showed increases in satisfaction on value for money, punctuality, information provided at tram stops and elements of comfort such as seating availability, space to stand, amount of personal space, seat comfort, provision of grab rails and internal temperature.

Peter Cushing, Travel for Greater Manchester's Metrolink Director, said: "I am delighted that we have seen an increase in satisfaction across many key aspects of the customer journey and experience.

"And while it would be misleading to make a like-for-like comparison with other networks - due to our sheer scale of operations and activity - I am also pleased that we are closer than ever to the national average.

"The Metrolink expansion is the biggest single live transport project in the country outside of London and is unparalleled in terms of its size and speed of growth and in what it will deliver for passengers.

"No other owner or operator is delivering engineering works anywhere near the scale of Metrolink."

Passengers also had increased satisfaction with smoothness of the ride, safety of driving, connectivity with other modes and ticket range.

The pool of responses was more than three times that of the next largest pool and comes at a time when major transformational works are under way.

Councillor Andrew Fender, chair of the Transport for Greater Manchester Committee, said: "The Metrolink network is undergoing unprecedented expansion; it is treble its original size and continues to grow.

"Next year will see the completion of the Second City Crossing and the culmination of a major construction project through the heart of Manchester city centre that will ultimately deliver huge benefits for customers by increasing the capacity, flexibility and reliability of the network.

"These surveys were completed at the height of the construction, when services were operating through the city on a single line, so to see marked increases in so many areas is a great achievement for everyone who's worked tirelessly to maintain services across the network."

Peter Cushing said that although the results of the report were positive the real value was being able to identify the needs of passengers so they could expand in the right direction.

He said: "Despite the positives we will not be resting on our laurels."