Quality Assurance in Public Transport
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A quality assurance system comprises assessment and remediation action in a closed circle. Quality Assessment in Public Transport may be organised in various forms:
- user panel
- quality tester
- feedback forms
- complaint handling
A user panel is organised by the transport operator searching for improvements. It is important to have frequent users of all relevant segments (children, elderly, mobility impaired, business people, leisure travellers, tourists ...). The panel should not be the stage for complaints but also to raise consciousness about costs of measures amongst the user groups.
Quality tester are trained private users travelling with an eye on quality on a set of pre-defined routes (line and time). They hold down the ranking, not only the problems.
Feedback forms are offered in the transport means to the passengers. Modern media allow instant reply via WAP or SMS.
Complaint handling is the most reactive form. Complaints are categorized and enter statistics. It has to be seen that certain type of passengers change to individual transport without complaining.
[edit] Focus
The quality expresses itself in:
- adherence to the timetable or heading time
- cleanliness (interior, exterior)
- accessibility of vehicles to mobility impaired
- personal security (illumination, visibility, video surveillance, emergency communication)
- noise, vibrations, smells
- driver related (accelerations, decelerations, early closing of doors etc.)
- sales personnel, ticket vending machines
- ticket invalidation, gates
