Survey finds public less satisfied with DSAT than bus operators

A survey has revealed that members of the public are more satisfied with the two bus operators than the Transport Bureau (DSAT).

Conducted by the Kai Fong Association between November and December this year, the survey collected 650 valid questionnaire responses out of 800 distributed. It targeted members of the public older than 18 years and students under this age.

From the pool of valid respondents, 35.54% take buses from one to five times a week, 19.69% six to 10 times and 14.15% zero times.

The average scores of satisfaction for bus operators TCM and Transmac were 6.38 and 6.56, while the score for the DSAT was 5.94. Despite the low score for the DSAT, the bus app developed by the bureau garnered an average score of satisfaction reaching 7 points. Respondents were least satisfied with waiting time, which only scored 5.76 points on average.

Nearly 67% of respondents pointed towards departure frequencies as the area that urgently needs improvement.

The association has also questioned those not using bus services as to their usual mode of transport. An overwhelming 78.26% had their own vehicles, while 34.78% relied on walking. Less than 5% reported taking taxis regularly while the rest relied on other modes of transport.

The three most popular reasons behind respondents’ not using bus services are not being able to get on buses during peak hours, bus trips taking too long and there being too many stops en-route. 

Besides adding departures, the associations suggested the government foster enhancements on bus-LRT transits and improve seating arrangements on buses. AL