The Worst Transit in the World?

Patrick Crozier had an interesting post on Transport Blog several weeks ago looking at what country has the best transit system. While the jury is still out on that topic, Olso, Norway, has Europe's worst transit, according to an customer satisfaction survey reported by Aftenposten Nettugaven:

More than half of Oslo's public transit users don't think the capital's trams and buses are worth their ticket prices. Poor frequency and unreliable schedules mean half of those questioned won't recommend using the transit system.

Some of the more interesting statistics out of the study:

• 47 percent of passengers think Oslo has a good transit system.
  
• 82 percent of passengers in Barcelona think the local public transit is good.
  
• Oslo scored lowest in terms of overall satisfaction. Barcelona was highest, followed by Helsinki, Geneva, Vienna, Stockholm and Copenhagen.
  
• 49 percent of passengers in London and Manchester were satisfied with their public transit system.
  
• In Oslo, only 24 percent of those responding said they felt a ride on a local bus or tram was worth the price, currently NOK 20 (about USD 3) for a single ride purchased in advance. Ticket prices jump to NOK 30 (USD 4.20) if bought on board a tram.
  

Interestingly enough, WMATA reports that, on a scale of 1 to 7 (one lowest, seven highest), the mean satisfaction score for Q3 2003 was about a 5.07 -- certainly higher than the equivalent of 24% saying they felt a ride was worth the cost, but definitely not close to how effective Barcelona is.

The real question, though, is whether public transit systems really listen to the public in the United States. All too often, I think, public transit treats itself like a utility - something people have to use - and often forces people to change their ways of acting to fit transit, rather than altering transit to fit the needs of the people.

WMATA has been better than a lot of transit authorities at this (heck, look at Baltimore's system), but still has a way to go. Too often, politics take the place of customer satisfaction. And, no, this isn't a call for the privatization of mass transit in the States, but it is a call for public transit authorities to start thinking more like businesses. If you don't keep your customers happy, they're going to go elsewhere. And in many of these cases, there is an elsewhere to go -- to the automobile.