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An NOP survey of more than 15,000 Arriva bus passengers has found that 90 per cent are satisfied with the service they receive - with easy-to-buy tickets and the performance of drivers scoring top marks.

In a major national customer satisfaction exercise for bus company Arriva, NOP researchers quizzed bus passengers about every aspect of their journey experience, from waiting at the bus stop, through boarding the bus and buying a ticket, to the journey itself.

The research has told Arriva which features of the journey experience are most important to its customers, and how well it measures up to people's expectations on a number of criteria.

Catherine Mason, Arriva's marketing and customer service director, explained:

So that we provide the best possible service for our customers, we need to know what they think of our services and what is important to them.

We are committed to delivering a better service for our customers and this research will enable us to focus our attention on improving the things which our customers value the most.

Catherine Mason added:

Comparative figures show that our bus drivers are rated as highly as airline staff – customers clearly value our drivers and we're really proud of them.

Respondents also rated highly the 'ease of access' (89 per cent satisfied) to Arriva buses and the ease of buying tickets (92 per cent satisfied). Conditions and facilities at bus stops were rated less highly (around 65 per cent satisfied), and Arriva has already begun working with local authorities to encourage them to address this area of concern.

Around 70 per cent of passengers said that they were happy that they were receiving 'value for money' as they were with the 'reliability of service'.

Not surprisingly, punctuality was the most important feature. Also important was the availability of seats, another area where passengers were pleased with Arriva's performance, and how often buses run.

Arriva's UK Bus division employs around 13,500 drivers who are trained in customer service and are able to further their training by taking up opportunities to study for BTEC diplomas and NVQs in customer care.

Arriva will now implement improvements to areas spotlighted by customers, with continuous monitoring to confirm increased satisfaction and prioritise future work.

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Notes to editors

• NOP Research Group is part of NOP World, one of the world's largest market research and business information companies, offering both custom and syndicated research, as well as research-based consulting, and analytic CRM services around the world.
• The research was carried out in England, excluding London, in October 2003 and involved over 15,000 people.