Go North East customers voted they are more than happy with the bus company and its services, scoring it an industry-leading 93% satisfaction level overall and 94% for its Tyne and Wear services, in the independent Autumn 2017 Bus Passenger Survey.
The rating, which considers everything from the start to the end of the journey, was released this month, in the latest report from industry watchdog Transport Focus.
The award-winning bus company also scored consistently in the areas of ‘value for money’ and ‘on bus journey time’, standing at 70% and 89% satisfaction respectively.
Managing Director at Go North East, Kevin Carr said: “The Bus Passenger Survey independently compares operators across the UK and to be among the top performers demonstrates that customers are pleased with the affordable, quick and easy ticketing solutions Go North East has introduced over the past year.
“Our pioneering £1 fare structure for anyone aged 18 and under, for any journey, any time continues to go from strength-to-strength, boosting younger passenger numbers by 60% and our £10 family day ticket launched last summer, saw phenomenal success.”
Ratings of Go North East bus drivers’ attitude, helpfulness and greeting jumped for the second consecutive year to 82%, with customer satisfaction levels maintaining 90% and above for the safety of the driving and driver appearance.
Respondents to the survey were asked to consider aspects including satisfaction with the bus environment, which saw a steady increase.
Kevin added: “Much of the improvement we’ve seen since last year has been the result of our focus on delivering our vision of ‘journeys taken care of’. This has been achieved through providing ongoing training and development opportunities to our teams, empowering them to be the best they can be at work, plus our major fleet investments which continue to introduce new vehicles and technologies for our customers.”
The Bus Passenger Survey consulted 48,000 bus users across England and Scotland between September and December 2017.
For more information about Go North East, visit www.gonortheast.co.uk.