In 2018 JSC “Pasažieru vilciens” carried 18.08 million passengers, an increase of 4.3% compared to 2017. Furthermore, the results of customer satisfaction survey conducted by JSC “Pasažieru vilciens” show that 90.1% of regular customers are satisfied with passenger train traffic in Latvia.
In October and November of 2018 research centre SKDS conducted a customer satisfaction survey* by the order of JSC “Pasažieru vilciens”, and the results show that the majority or 90.1% of passengers are satisfied with train traffic in Latvia, and would recommend using this service to others. Compared to the survey conducted in 2017, total customer satisfaction has increased by 0.2%.
Customer satisfaction is high in all five train lines, but according to various assessment criteria passengers along the Jelgava and Tukums lines were the most satisfied.
The most important factors why respondents chose to travel by train were the cost of the trip, the timetable, as well as train accuracy and speed. Most often, train is used to go to or from work (49%), and 82% of the respondents use the train to commute along this route. The most popular activity on the train is browsing the internet (37%), almost the same amount of people (31%) prefer reading a book or listening to music during the journey. Passengers also spend time sleeping (26%), looking outside the window or watching other people (31%).
From the aspects included in the survey, passengers are most satisfied (92%) with the responsiveness, kindness and helpfulness of JSC “Pasažieru vilciens” employees. The accuracy of train departure and arrival is also highly appreciated, with 91% of customers satisfied. In 2018 customer satisfaction increased in aspects such as train cleanliness, suitability of the train timetable to the respondent, free internet access and a place for bicycles.
When assessing safety, 88% of passengers said they felt safe for themselves and for their baggage. Likewise, the majority (86%) of passengers believe that a train is less likely to get into a traffic accident. Each year passengers' rating about safety at railway stations improves.
Regarding up-to-date information, the number of passengers who choose to obtain information from information services or at the train stations decreases; passengers increasingly prefer the e-environment – 82% make use of the information available on JSC “Pasažieru vilciens” website www.pv.lv and/or mobile app, 57% follow JSC “Pasažieru vilciens” activities on social networks. Passengers still tend to obtain the necessary train information at train stations.
Although, since 2016, more and more people buy e-tickets, in 2018 the ticket for a particular trip was mostly purchased at a cash desk (69%), the main reason being the force of habit.
Passengers state the need for additional train departures at the beginning and end of week days, express journeys with fewer stops, ticket machines, air temperatures within the wagons corresponding to the season and more convenient boarding and disembarking as the necessary improvements in train travel.
About the survey*
The SKDS survey was conducted between October and November 2018 along five JSC “Pasažieru vilciens” lines. Nearly 5,000 passengers were questioned at random. Sampling was based on the statistics of passenger flow per line. Passengers were surveyed on all days of the week, at different departure times, and at all sections of the route.