When Customers Get to Have a Say in Public Transportation

The art of listening to customers

Listening to customers when developing public transportation may sound like a given. But how do you do that in a way that actually leads to change? At Persontrafik, Östgötatrafiken explains how they try to incorporate customer experiences and why the perspectives of young people, in particular, are so important.

Young People’s Voices Shape the Future of Public Transportation

When Östgötatrafiken asked various passenger groups in a survey what improvements they would like to see on the Östgötapendeln, one of the responses was: a gym car. This came in connection with a refurbishment of the trains, and was perhaps not quite what the transit company had expected. However, most of the feedback focused on more feasible measures, such as more comfortable seats and faster Wi-Fi.

Mari Arnell, CX developer at Östgötatrafiken

“The survey was very well received; people felt that we were listening to them. Their feedback has been a key factor in our decision-making and in determining what we’ve chosen to move forward with,” says Mari Arnell, CX developer at Östgötatrafiken.

In the session titled “Listen to the Customer,” Mari Arnell will speak at Persontrafik about how she and her colleagues work on customer experiences in various ways. Among other things, they have a panel of about 400 young participants who, every other week, are asked a question about topics related to their travel.

Young people are our largest customer group, and they are also the ones who are most dissatisfied with public transportation. That’s why we made an extra-large marketing effort to put together a panel of them. “If we’re going to retain young people and get them to continue using public transportation, we need to listen to what they think is good and what they think could be improved,” says Mari Arnell.

The travelers’ perspective must have a greater impact

On Facebook, you can find numerous groups expressing their dissatisfaction with public transportation, such as “Pendeltågsupproret” and “Broen live.” But members often lack knowledge about how public transportation is organized, explains Karin Svensson Smith, chair of the national organization Resenärerna.

Karin Svensson Smith, president of the national organization Resenärerna.

They don’t know who makes the decisions, which can lead to some rather odd reasoning. But neither the regional public transit authorities nor the transit companies are always very good at listening to their customers. Above all, the political parties need to do a better job of understanding what matters to public transit users, says Karin Svensson Smith, who previously served for many years on the Riksdag’s Transport Committee and will moderate the panel discussion.

The organization Resenärerna collects feedback and seeks to engage in dialogue with transportation authorities and operators. Punctuality is what people complain about most, but there is also dissatisfaction with the service offerings, explains Karin Svensson Smith.

One of her role models is Passagerarpulsen in Denmark, which for several years served as a voice for passengers in the development of public transportation. In the United Kingdom, there is the Campaign for Better Transport, which works to promote sustainable, affordable, and accessible public transportation systems.

“There, people discuss together how to improve conditions for both public transit users and those who operate the system. In Sweden, we are very far from that today,” says Karin Svensson Smith.

For several years now, Resenärerna has been selecting the country’s best station based on transfer options, accessibility, service, and architecture—factors that also play a role in travel. Ahead of the awards ceremony, which this time will take place at Persontrafik, they have reviewed nearly 400 stations.

“A good station welcomes everyone to use public transportation,” concludes Karin Svensson Smith.

Text: Paula Isaksson