The results of the Fall 2023 Customers Count survey are in!
Between November 6 and November 20, 2023, we received 108,000 responses to our Fall 2023 survey.
The survey targeted customers who use any of our modes of transit: subways, buses, commuter rail, Staten Island Railway, and Access-a-Ride Paratransit. Our outreach included advertising in print and online media, and promoting it on digital signage throughout our transit system.
The goal of the survey was to get feedback from our customers on their satisfaction levels and and to identify changes compared to previous reporting periods. We also sought to gain a deeper understanding about key drivers of customer satisfaction that influence customer behaviors. We sought feedback on their satisfaction with service, our staff, cleanliness, security, and more.
Hearing directly from our customers lets us better understand their biggest concerns and prioritize issues that we need to address, with the goal of bringing more customers back to our subways, buses, and trains.
Here are some of our findings:
Subway riders are more satisfied with their lines and stations, but overall subway satisfaction dipped.
While overall satisfaction with subways dipped to 52% in Fall 2023, down from 56% in Spring 2023, scores in the following categories all increased from Spring 2023:
- Overall subway line satisfaction (58%), increased by four percentage points
- Overall station satisfaction (67%), increased by six percentage points
- Safety on trains (54%), increased by four percentage points
- Safety in stations (51%), increased by three percentage points
- Cleanliness on board trains (57%), increased by nine percentage points
This contradicting trend signals a negative sentiment that many customers have for the subway overall, even if they believe their own line or station has improved. The survey results indicate this perception is related to quality-of-life issues in the system, such as homelessness, and a belief that service is unreliable. The MTA continues to work to address these issues and improve customer satisfaction.
Access-a-Ride customer satisfaction increased.
Access-A-Ride's overall satisfaction is at 68%, up from 64% in Spring 2023. On-time pickup is the most important driver of overall satisfaction, and 59% said they were satisfied with on-time pickup in Fall 2023, up 8% points from Spring 2023. Frequent riders, those who ride three to four days a week, saw the largest increase in satisfaction at 69%, up five percentage points. Travel times and frequency of no-shows are also important drivers of overall satisfaction, and satisfaction with travel times increased four percentage points to 74% in Fall 2023.
Customer satisfaction on the Long Island Rail Road is bouncing back.
The Long Island Rail Road is starting to bounce back after a decline in overall satisfaction in Spring 2023, which followed the opening of Grand Central Madison and unveiling of new schedules. Overall satisfaction with LIRR is 70%, up from 68% in Spring 2023, with the highest improvement in satisfaction coming from Atlantic Terminal customers, with a 10-percentage point increase in satisfaction, followed by Penn Station and Jamaica customers, each with a five-percentage point increase.
Scores for customers who always transfer improved by five percentage points to 55%, and City Zone customers are the most satisfied group of LIRR riders, with an overall satisfaction rating at 76%.
Station satisfaction with Penn Station is now at 77%, up from 58% a year ago in Fall 2022. All Penn Station metrics are up, but ratings for displays, lighting, signs and cleanliness are especially positive, reaching percentage scores in the 70s and 80s. Grand Central Madison remains one of the highest-rated stations in satisfaction with 97%, up one percentage point from the spring.
Metro-North customer satisfaction remains high.
Metro-North Railroad continues to be the highest-rated agency with an overall customer satisfaction rating of 86%. Particularly, the Harlem-125 St Station satisfaction rating saw an 11-percentage point increase from 64% to 75% in overall station satisfaction, with increases in every subcategory including customer satisfaction with the Harlem-125th Street Station restrooms, which went up 23 percentage points along with satisfaction with cleanliness, capacity on platforms, and elevators all up by at least seven percentage points.
