Seeing through the Eyes of our Passengers

    We connect people to the things they care about—work, school, friends, shopping, entertainment, medical appointments and more, and we are always striving to make public transportation more attractive and convenient for passengers.

    At Veolia Transportation, we work hard to evaluate the service we provide from the perspective of our customers, and stay focused on how the decisions we make will affect their experience. We follow consumer trends and expectations; changing lifestyles and work patterns, gas prices, new mobility habits, technology use, environmental awareness and an aging population are shaping a new relationship with public transit. In addition, the presence of a time-constrained public in all socio-economic groups means riders need transport that respects their busy schedules. It is ever more critical to provide friendly, reliable service, good signage, and efficient inter-connectivity between modes of transport.

    Veolia Transportation has been a pioneer in many aspects of improving the passenger experience. Our innovations in passenger care include:

    • Implementing Next Bus digital technology, which alerts passengers to when the next bus will arrive via text messages or signage
    • Re-designing signage to include system maps and neighborhood maps
    • Deploying mobile phone ticketing (currently being widely used in Europe)
    • Enhancing Customer Comment tracking systems and Complaint Management systems, enabling our clients to partner with us to mine the data and make systemic improvements
    • Rolling out nationwide a powerful, proprietary customer service training program Going For Green that equips drivers to understand the perceptions of customers and take care of their concerns. This custom-built program has been implemented with quantifiable success at over 35 locations.
    We’ve developed powerful tools for learning about passenger needs and concerns.
    Veolia Transportation has developed a proprietary survey methodology that provides a rigorous assessment of all aspects of the customer experience on a bus or train.

    Our survey questionnaire is very comprehensive. It was designed based on extensive passenger interviews regarding what is important to them in a transit experience. It includes 24 different aspects of service: those managed by Veolia Transportation as well as those provided by the Transit Agency.

    We hire a highly regarded, independent market research firm to conduct the surveys and tabulate the data, and we provide our clients with detailed analysis, including a regression analysis that identifies the major drivers of satisfaction. With our special analyses, the survey data becomes a true management tool, helping clients see where they should prioritize their investments in order to have maximum impact on customer satisfaction.

    In 2007, we conducted these surveys for clients in Fairfax, Virginia and the York Region (in the Toronto suburbs), helping our clients there to stay abreast of their passengers’ opinions about every aspect of the service they offer. To find out more, email: mitun.seguin@veoliatransdev.com