Survey Shows More Bus Passengers Aren’t Satisfied With Waiting Time

If you’re reading this at the bus stop and wondering why your bus hasn’t arrived even after 10 minutes, read on to relate to your fellow brethren and maybe also find out why.

In a recent annual survey by the Public Transport Council, it has been revealed that while commuters in Singapore continued to express satisfaction in the overall public transport in 2023, people continue to be dissatisfied with the waiting time for buses.

In fact, bus waiting time satisfaction has dropped from 80% in 2022 to 76% in 2023. 

Results of the Survey

The Public Transport Customer Satisfaction Survey (PTCSS), conducted from 14 August to 24 September 2023, surveyed 5,037 commuters aged 15 and above.

Survey respondents participated by scanning QR codes located at transportation nodes and through the SimplyGo app.

Respondents were asked to rate their satisfaction and the importance of eight bus and train service attributes on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 indicating very dissatisfied or unimportant and 10 indicating very satisfied or important.

Ratings of 6 and above were considered satisfactory. The service attributes included waiting time, reliability, service information, accessibility of bus interchange, bus stop or train station, comfort, travel time, customer service, and safety and security.

93% of respondents expressed satisfaction with public transport, consistent with the close to 93% figure in 2022.

However, this remains notably lower than the 99.4% satisfaction rate reported in 2019.

Train users saw a slight increase in satisfaction, rising to 95% from about 94% in 2022. 

Despite this, both train and bus passengers express dissatisfaction in waiting times, with only 83% of respondents expressing satisfaction with waiting time in 2023, down from 85% in 2022.

For bus passengers, Waiting Time, Reliability, and Travel Time remained the top three most important attributes for bus services.

While the mean satisfaction score for Reliability remained unchanged, Travel Time improved slightly from 7.5 in 2022 to 7.6 in 2023. However, satisfaction with Waiting Time decreased from 7.1 in 2022 to 6.8 in 2023.

Of course, living in a busy society like Singapore, it can be extra aggravating if you miss your bus by a hair, and end up having to wait up to 20 minutes and causing you to be late for work or school.

Speaking to the press, passengers have reported cases of waiting time discrepancies between waiting times on the display screens at bus interchanges and the actual time it took for the buses to arrive.

Another passenger observed that the length of bus waiting times varies depending on the bus stop’s location, whereby bustling areas may have buses arriving later than the estimated times, while less crowded spots are more punctual.

Though bus passengers expressed less satisfaction with waiting times and customer service compared to previous years, there was an increase in satisfaction regarding travel time, service information, and safety and security.

In the meantime, passenger satisfaction with waiting times for trains saw a slight decline, with 91% expressing satisfaction in 2023 compared to 92% in 2022. However, the mean score remained consistent at 8 for both years.

Reasons for the Decline in Overall Satisfaction

When asked about the reasons for the drop in satisfaction, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) has highlighted operational emergencies, including traffic delays, adverse weather conditions, and staffing shortages due to medical leave as the primary reasons.

Despite efforts to recruit more bus captains locally, vacancies persist. Moreover, in the already tight labour market, it is hard for operators to meet full staffing requirements.

LTA noted that existing bus captains are striving to address these challenges by increasing the frequency of existing services based on passenger demand, taking on additional trips, and being redeployed to bus services serving newer estates.

They also announced plans to collaborate with public transport operators and the National Transport Workers’ Union to tackle workforce issues and enhance bus waiting times.

Other Survey Results

In a recent and similar survey involving passengers with disabilities and their caregivers, satisfaction levels with public transport services saw a slight decline with 94% of these passengers expressed satisfaction in 2023, down from 95% in 2022.

The survey, conducted from 14 August to 6 October, 2023, included 180 passengers with disabilities and 220 caregivers.

In response, the PTC said that they will remain committed to cultivating a compassionate commuting environment through initiatives under the Caring SG Commuters movement.

This ongoing effort aims to uphold inclusivity within our public transport system, catering to the diverse needs of all commuters.