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West Coast Expression
Laurie Grant, a West Coast Express survey host, guides commuter Ursula Leonhardt through a four-minute
customer survey with a laptop computer on board a WCE train. Leonhardt, who commutes daily from her home in Coquitlam, B.C., to Vancouver, says she is
"100 percent delighted with the service."
Vancouver British Columbia - Riders of the new West Coast Express commuter
rail service have spoken, and they are delighted with the service.
A recent survey, the first in a monthly series, shows no fewer than 89 percent of respondents placed themselves firmly in the "delighted" category of
Vancouver rail commuters.
And CP Rail System operating crews, track forces, signal maintainers, and rail traffic controllers can all take credit for this initial success, said Chuck
Gosling, the railway's manager of commuter rail service in Vancouver.
"We work hard at running an efficient train operation and it's a point of pride to be courteous and helpful. What the public is saying means a lot to
us," he said.
West Coast Express Limited, owned and managed by the B.C. government, launched its commuter service on the Lower Mainland last November.
Five commuter trains make the 65-km (40-mile) trip, weekdays between Waterfront Station in downtown Vancouver and Mission, B.C.
CPRS locomotive engineers and conductors operate the commuter trains on the CPRS main line. The WCE is responsible for servicing all eight stations.
"We have never seen anything like this where a brand new service comes off and rings so strongly and positively with customers," said Jon Spalding,
senior vice-president of Marketing Strategy and Planning Inc., an international marketing and research firm with an office in Richmond, B.C. "The
first-month survey results are exceptional."
Spalding said the honeymoon factor, the public's fascination with the new, the wealth of advertising, and the lack of something with which to compare the
service, does not undermine the survey results. "Frankly, on any transportation service, you don't expect 90 percent of the people to say they are
delighted with the service," Spalding said.
This positive customer response, he added, is particularly impressive in Canada, where he feels people tend to be more critical.
No fewer than 80 percent of riders, who rated the service on a laptop computer offered by survey hosts on the train, rated "convenience over car
travel," as the number-one positive attribute of commuter rail service.
Among the highest rated attributes were those related directly to personal service: nearly eighty percent said the train staff were "courteous and
helpful."
John Doyle, manager of public affairs for the WCE, said the most gratifying result of the survey is the recognition of a high level of personal dedication to
customer service by WCE and CPRS employees. "We designed this service to be customer responsive, he said. "And we're getting the results we
wanted."
He went on to explain that month-to-month surveys help to track shifting customer expectations, identifying where service can be improved. Food services and
bus connections were among the public's least favored features.
After five months of service, WCE is carrying about 5,200 riders a day. That figure is expected to increase to 9,600 riders a day by the end of the first 18
months of operation.
Eighteen months of construction by CPRS, including track upgrades, bridge work, the installation of central traffic control, and improvements to grade
crossings preceded the inauguration of WCE service. Additional track work continues at several points along the line to better accommodate freight trains
between Port Coquitlam and the Vancouver waterfront. |
