Satisfaction with the cleanliness of vehicles has improved in particular on commuter train and tram services. On commuter trains, space capacity has markedly improved thanks to the new Flirt trains. Photo: Lauri Eriksson
Based on the overall score, the most satisfied passengers were recorded on the Metro and tram services, with 91 per cent of passengers being satisfied. The average rating given to Metro services (4.18) was slightly higher than that of tram services (4.16).
In Vantaa, 82 per cent of bus passengers gave HSL’s transport services a good or very good rating, while the average passenger satisfaction rate on all bus services was 87 per cent. The satisfaction of bus passengers in Vantaa has improved from the figures following the roll out of a new bus network in autumn 2015. Timetables have been revised in Vantaa to improve punctuality, facilitating transfers.
Replacing old vehicles with new ones has affected passenger satisfaction in many ways.
Satisfaction with the cleanliness of vehicles has improved in particular on commuter train and tram services. On commuter trains, space capacity has markedly improved thanks to the new Flirt trains. On tram services, the availability of seats and travel comfort have improved with more new Artic trams entering service.
On the Metro, by contrast, space capacity has slightly decreased with the introduction of shorter Metro trains in autumn 2016. However, 94 per cent of Metro passengers thought that the Metro meets their travel needs well.
The share of passengers satisfied with the punctuality of all HSL services was down by about three percentage points from 77 per cent in spring 2016 to 74 per cent in spring 2017.
The decline was in particular due to temporarily poorer quality of passenger information due to installation works related to the new ticketing and information system (TIS). Some 73 per cent of passengers were satisfied with signposting at stops and stations.
In spring 2017, the introduction of stop-specific arrival time estimates related to the new ticketing and information system and installation of TIS devices on vehicles were still ongoing and the service level at stops was poorer than usual for quite some time. Passengers’ experiences of the effectiveness of signposting was reflected in the overall rating of conditions at stops and the punctuality of tram and bus services.
On tram services, only 60 per cent of passengers on tram 9 were satisfied with the punctuality of services. The perceived punctuality was significantly down from spring 2016.
The result of the route had a negative effect on the perceived punctuality of all tram services. In spring 2017, tram 9 was running between the West Terminal, Central Railway Station and Pasila. Journey times on the route were extended due to passengers buying tickets from the driver and the Tripla construction site. Poor punctuality results were recorded also on tram routes 7A and 7B that were still operated as a circular route in the spring.
HSL measures passenger satisfaction with public transport services almost year-round using onboard questionnaires. The surveys are conducted Monday to Thursday 6–18 and on Fridays 6–16.
In spring 2017, over 27,000 passengers responded to the survey on bus, tram, Metro and commuter train services. In the survey, passengers assess HSL’s public transport services on a scale of 1- 5. The survey data is available via an open data base at: