Passenger Care and Comfort The right room temperature inside the vehicle goes a long way to creating a feeling of well-being.
The ride’s as important as the journey As more commuters return to rail, it’s important for industry to recognise the importance of the passenger experience. Even though increasing numbers of business and leisure travellers making a welcome return to rail, the key to retaining them as customers lies in guaranteeing trips that match their expectations. From the initial ticket purchase in the station to the rail car, the industry needs to offer experiences that make passengers eager to return again and again. Whether it’s running on time, or addressing physical comfort requirements such as stringent cab hygiene, better seat material, having more room to move or using optimal ventilation, the industry has unprecedented opportunities to comprehensively monitor the comfort of its passengers’ experience and make improvements where necessary. PASSENGER PRIORITIES A recent UK report on what passengers want when they travel on trains reveals priorities that are common to Australia. The research, undertaken by the independent watchdog for transport users in the UK, Transport Focus, involved asking 14,300 passengers across the country to rank a series of 30 possible improvements to their rail service, in order of priority. The survey found the top priority for improvement was punctuality, with commuters wanting a reliable railway that delivered on the promise of the timetable day in and day out. Improving value for money came a close second and while passengers did not
22 | ISSUE 4 - M AY 2022 | RAIL EXPRESS
realistically expect prices to drop, they did expect the basic promises of the industry to be met in return for their fares. Passenger comfort was also important, with many prioritising the need to get a seat on the train. While the industry is enjoying a resurgence in current times, it has struggled to provide the extra capacity to meet this demand. As Transport Focus chief executive Anthony Smith outlines, more and more services have run on increasingly congested infrastructure, often with a knock-on hit to reliability and punctuality. These basics – being reliably on time and getting a seat – also contribute to passengers’ perceptions of value for money. So when delays or even disruptive industrial action occur, it is understandable that passenger dissatisfaction escalates. • Priorities by journey purpose Smith said reliability, punctuality and value for money were key improvement areas for all groups regardless of journey purpose. “But while the ranking order of priorities is similar, there are differences in the priorities between commuters, business and leisure passengers,” he said. “Commuters are more concerned about the core timetabled service, including with frequency of trains, disruption due to engineering works and journey times. While still not a high priority, commuters also place greater importance on making it easier to claim compensation for delays.
“They also place great emphasis on a robust, consistent, reliable delivery of the basic service. “For business and leisure passengers, there is more of an emphasis on the quality of the journey. Business travellers are more concerned about staying connected while travelling, with greater emphasis on free Wi-Fi and a better mobile phone signal on the train. “Leisure passengers are more concerned about getting a seat on the train and that toilets on trains are clean and well maintained.” • Priorities by age While the key priorities remain the same, analysis by age factors revealed some interesting differences. “As may be expected, older passengers are more concerned with getting a seat on the train and with clean, well-maintained toilets on long journeys,” Smith said. “Passengers aged 16–25 are much more concerned about journey times and environmental impact than older passengers.” • Priorities for passengers with disabilities There were also notable differences in priorities for improvement between passengers with a disability and those without. “For passengers with a disability, toilet facilities, step-free access, improved security and availability of staff to help are more important,” Smith said. “However, it is also important not to underplay the importance of the ‘core product’
