For the nineteenth year in a row, the Swedish Quality Index (SKI) has conducted its comprehensive survey of customer satisfaction in the passenger transport sector, which includes trains, buses and flights. After a challenging period with strikes and technical problems, the 2024 report shows positive trends, with several players showing improvements in customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction in the industry increases by 2 points to 68.3, but the variation between players is greater than in a long time.
The operators that continue to receive good reviews are recognized from before, even if the ranking this year looks a little different. At the top of the operators participating in the study is MTRX, which has made an improvement, followed by Vy bus4you. These two operators clearly have the most satisfied customers. It is noteworthy that there are several operators that receive ratings above 75, which is an indication that they have very satisfied customers. There are also some operators that fall below 60 in satisfaction, which is the limit for dissatisfaction among customers, and it is SJ and Mälartåg that end up so low.
Good service – but it doesn't take satisfaction forward
In many other SKI studies during the year, the importance of a good level of service has often been highlighted, but that is not quite true in this industry. Here, instead, it is the focus on basic delivery and punctuality that are the decisive factors for customer satisfaction.
”Product quality and value for money are in focus. By product quality here we mean coverage and departures as well as punctuality and comfort,” says Johan Parmler, CEO of SKI. ”Everyone has an acceptable level of service, but taking a person from point A to point B in a reliable way is more important than good service. For the two operators that come out on top, MTRX and Vy bus4you, however, things look different. Here we see instead that the high level of service contributes to better value for money, which is a reason for the high level of satisfaction.
Delays still a problem
Despite a general improvement in customer satisfaction, the report points to continued challenges, particularly around the handling of delays and communication during these incidents. 3 out of 10 travelers indicate that they have been affected by delays in the past year. ”Our data shows that effective handling of delays is critical to maintaining customer trust and loyalty. Unfortunately, this is an area where the industry still needs to improve significantly. If we look at satisfaction this year, we see strong correlations between satisfaction and handling of disruption and delays,” explains Calle Walmstedt, project manager at SKI. “It is clear that there are different conditions for being able to handle delays and replacement traffic, but that said, you still need to be able to inform and communicate.”
Sustainability – an untapped opportunity
SKI's survey also shows that customers are not sufficiently familiar with the sustainability work of transport companies. There is a large gap between the companies' ambitions and the customers' perceptions. 63% of the customers say that they are not aware of their supplier's sustainability work at all. "That's a high percentage if you think that sustainability is such a clear part of transport in particular. If we compare it to, for example, the energy industry where sustainability is part of the product, the transport industry is a bit behind," notes Calle. "This does not mean that sustainability is unimportant to customers. On the contrary, fix the basic delivery, and satisfaction will be raised by good sustainability work. However, it is important to start at the right end. If the customer arrives on time, then the sustainability issues will also do so."”
According to the press release.
