CUSTOMER PERSPECTIVES ON INTERIOR BUS DESIGN ISSUES: AN ANALYSIS BASED ON FOCUS GROUPS

Despite the growing recognition of the importance of customer satisfaction for transit systems, relatively little research has been devoted to understanding customer perspectives concerning the interior design of urban buses. This study presents the findings from focus groups that were held across Canada in order to identify issues of concern and features which customers wished to see in conventional transit buses. A total of 16 two hour long focus groups were conducted in six cities across Canada. Eight sessions were held with frequent riders, four with non-frequent riders, and four sessions with persons with physical limitations. Efforts were also made to obtain a balance between male and female participants. In addition to the focus group discussuins, further information was obtained from a written survey given to participants, and from discussions held with bus manufacturers. The focus group discussions were organized to reflect the customer's experience with the bus: boarding, being on the bus, and alighting, and the study identifies a variety of issues related to these headings. The study recommends seven areas for research or action: addressing boarding and alighting needs, improving seating, enhancing climate control, improving stop announcements, educating customers, developing a market research approach, and incorporating human factor concerns in bus procurement. The appendices contain the materials used to structure the focus groups, and the results from the written survey that was conducted.